Raith Rovers: Striker Paul McMullan reckons strong Scottish nucleus can inspire promotion push
Raith Rovers striker Paul McMullan reckons the strong nucleus of talented Scottish players at Stark’s Park can be a key factor in the Kirkcaldy outfit having a successful season in the William Hill Championship.
McMullan’s former club Dundee United – who he served between 2017 and 2021 – made headlines recently by starting with 11 non Scots in their 1-0 home Conference League win over UNA Strassen on July 24, a result of Arabs manager Jim Goodwin strengthening his squad by seeking value for money signings around the world rather than dealing with perceived ‘inflated prices’ in the Scottish market.
But, by stark contrast, Irishman Jordan Doherty was the only non Scottish star who started for McMullan’s Rovers as the predominantly Caledonian crusaders won 1-0 at Ayr United’s Somerset Park last Saturday thanks to Dylan Easton’s stunning early goal.
And, when asked if he thought having a strong nucleus of Scottish players at Raith can help the club’s efforts this campaign, ex-Celtic youth player McMullan told the Fife Free Press: “Of course. In the Championship, it can be pretty hard, especially through the winter, to go into some places.
"You need guys that know the league and know what to expect.
"It's helpful to have a couple of guys who are fresh-faced and aren’t going into the unknown.
"To have that nucleus of guys that have been around the league, know the league and are good quality in the league is important, definitely.
“We're probably a smaller group than what some of the other teams have got but that can work against you as well because they've probably got a lot of players at the clubs that are expecting to play and not playing, whereas everybody's going to be involved here.
"It's all pushing towards the one thing and that can probably be a positive for us.
“It (clubs signing several foreign players) is the way football's gone now. Everybody's looking further afield to see if they can find the next something and see if they can get a wee bit of money for them or whatever.
"It's just the way, especially with how good Celtic and Rangers are, teams are trying to get into touching distance. That's unfortunately what's coming.”
McMullan was then asked for his thoughts on Raith’s prospects of mounting a promotion push this term.
He added: "You want to get as many points on the board as possible. You don't know where it's going to take you.
"We're hoping for a successful season. That's where our goals are.
"We're looking to be as high up the league as possible and see where we finish at the end of the year.
"The boys have spoken about their ten-game unbeaten run at the end of last season, being solid with a clean sheet record, being difficult to beat and making teams really have to work hard to score a goal against you, which in this league is important.
"You don't want to give away too many free goals as that leaves you chasing the game. If we can build on that going into this year, I think we'll be in a good place.”