If Raith Rovers are to cross the first division finish line as champions in May, defender Grant Murray reckons much of that will be down to their remarkable form on the road.
The league leaders travel to take on Morton as they seek to maintain their title challengeand the statistics would certainly suggest the Fife side have a great chance of doing so.
Seven wins, five draws and just the one defeat away from home is a record any club would want to have and Rovers travel west knowing another victory is vital if they are to keep, or possibly even extend, their four-point cushion over Fife rivals Dunfermline at the top of the table.
Murray has played a key part in ensuring that Rovers can boast one of the best defensive records in the country on their travels and hopes that his team can reproduce the kind of form they’ve shown countless times away from Stark’s Park when they visit Cappielow.
“It’s the old cliche: every game is a cup final,” he said.
“At this moment in time, we’re up there at the top of the league because we’ve won games and we all want to stay there.
“To stay there we have to win games and it will be another very difficult game against Morton.
“But it’s a good place to go and play and I think we tend to play with a bit more freedom away from home for some reason.
“I think the home team’s expected to be set up to have a go at you,” Murray added. “So we’ll go there with our own game plan, as we always do, and hopefully we can go there and get the right result.”
While Stark’s Park has been far from a fortress for the Kirkcaldy club this season, with five of their six defeats down Pratt Street way, Murray believes that Tuesday night’s late 2-1 win over Cowdenbeath could prove to be a pivotal point in their title challenge.
Last weekend’s home loss to Partick left everyone at Raith shell-shocked and dropping points again in midweek would have been doubly hard to take, but Murray insists the win has done wonders for confidence in the Rovers camp.
“I think it was a massive win for us,” he said.
“Obviously, it was a sore one to take with their equaliser, but it was one of those games where we had to push and push to get a winner, so it’s a great confidence boost for the boys that we got it.
“Every game is important but you want to make it as difficult as you can for teams to come to Stark’s Park and unfortunately our home record probably isn’t as good as it should be.
“But we got the win we needed and although Dunfermline dropped points, we can only concentrate on ourselves.
“To bounce back after a defeat was great. It’s all about how you react and we hung on in there right until the end.”
Defender Laurie Ellis picked up a calf knock in the midweek derby win and will be sidelined today, as will winger Iain Williamson due to his foot injury.
Scott McBride should be available for selection though after shaking off a hamstring injury and striker Gregory Tade will also play after recovering from a rib injury.
While Rovers will be hoping Stirling can do them another favour when they play Dunfermline today, manager John McGlynn continues to focus on his side’s fortunes.
“It’s a common question that we get asked but unfortunately I’m going to have to be boring and say that it’s all about what we do on the day,” he said.
“We were disappointed with the performance last Saturday, but the players showed great spirit and a great work ethic against Cowdenbeath and we’ll be looking for that to continue.”