John McGlynn has told Raith to expect a fired-up Ayr United tonight after recalling the way his own players returned from their coronavirus lay-off with a bang.

Rovers were forced to shut down the whole club and ask for the postponement of their clash with Inverness back in January following a major outbreak of Covid-19 cases in their squad.

It was a worrying time for the Fifers but they emerged from their period of isolation to dish out an memorable against-the-odds 3-2 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle.

McGlynn admits that stunning win against last season’s champions-elect should serve as a warning for the Kirkcaldy men as they prepare for this evening’s rearranged trip to face a ring-rusty Ayr.

David Hopkin’s side were the latest team to be hit with a flare-up of the virus late last month and succeeded in having their home encounter with Raith rescheduled because they could not muster a team.

It means the Honest Men have not played in more than a fortnight, whilst Raith’s SPFL Trust Trophy win over Forfar at the weekend was their first outing since beating Aberdeen in the Premier Sports Cup on August 15.

McGlynn said: “Saturday was our first game in three weeks and I’m hoping that’s the cobwebs blown away.

“Now, we go down to Ayr and it’s been two weeks since they played.

“Who knows how they will have been affected? We had Covid in January and came back and beat Hearts.

“So, we go down there knowing it’s going to be a tough game.

“Hoppy’s team, along with Jim Duffy, they’ll be very, very competitive and they’ll make it a scrap, and we’ve got to be prepared for that.

“But hopefully we’ll come out on top.”