COWDENBEATH will face a completely different Raith Rovers team this Saturday from that which they faced four times last season in the Championship.

Raith have a new manager and many different players so it will be interesting how these two sides match up to each other in this first round tie in the Petrofac Training Challenge Cup this weekend.

New stark’s Park boss, Ray McKinnon, has brought in some good players in terms of signings and loan acquisitions, so it will be nothing like the Rovers team which the Blue Brazil beat 3-1 at Kirkcaldy in April when current Cowden boss Colin Nish thumped in a well taken hat-trick.

And he has seen his team prepare in four friendly games with an unbeaten record and only one goal conceded against Motherwell Under 20s, Gala Fairydean Rovers, Hearts and Edinburgh City, so the new look Cowdenbeath squad looks to be settling in well.

Player/boss Nish is well aware that the Rovers is a different team to the one which he scored three times against last season.

“The friendlies have given us a chance to try a lot of things out and play in some really competitive matches and I have a fair idea of what sort of side I want to put out this coming weekend,” he said.

“With three derby games and an opening league fixture coming up we have four massive matches to look forward to, starting with Raith Rovers.

“They have made some good signings and being a Championship side, they will start as favourites but we will be having a right good go at them.” The manager was short of a few players for Saturday’s game against Lowland League champions, Edinburgh City.

“We knew that City would be a well organised side with a few players that can really hurt you so we had to play pretty well in the game and while we defended excellently we could have looked to do more in an attacking sense,” said Mr Nish.

“With the likes of Mo Yaqub being struck down by illness on Saturday and with Kenny Adamson and Jack Beaumont out injured along with a couple of trialists also unavailable, we had to change things around but we did reasonably well.

“Now we have to get ourselves ready for the Raith game and hopefully we will have a strong side ready to challenge Rovers.” The manager will have new goalkeeper Mike Andrews (he is a Scotland under-21 internationalist and hails from Haddington), in the squad, after him signing on Saturday night, and he hopes to have Luke Armstrong available, who has impressed in two trial outings and if he does, he will have to make the decision who plays up front with Greig Spence.

He may go for himself, or take a seat on the bench and play Armstrong. Definitely in will be Dean Brett, John Armstrong, Brad Donaldson, Chris Kane, Declan Hughes and Craig Johnston. He may also have Lewis Milne available.

“This is a tournament we want to do well in so we will be preparing to make life as tough as possible we can for Raith,” he concluded.

Prior to Saturday’s game Cowdenbeath’s new home strip for the 2015-16 season will be on show for the first time so if fans want to find out what it looks like get along to the big derby.

See match reports on Hearts and Edinburgh City friendlies on Page 51.