Rangers loanee aiming to impress as he gears up for TV derby

Follow us on Google Discover

Rangers loanee Kai Kennedy will come up against former side Raith Rovers tonight as Dunfermline make the short journey to the home of their Fife rivals and admits it will be a new experience for him to play in a Fife Derby in front of fans.

Despite spending time on loan at Starks Park last season, and coming up against Pars home and away, Kennedy and his Raith teammates had to do so behind closed doors as a result of Covid restrictions.

With Peter Grant’s side having a poor start to the season so far, Kennedy is hoping to turn things around with a strong performance in Kirkcaldy in tonight’s TV derby, saying: “I just want to go out there and play well and, as a team, we just want to win.

“I have never played in front of the fans in a Raith v Dunfermline derby and I can’t wait. It is going to be a good experience for me. I am just hoping that it goes our way.”

Kennedy missed the game at Ibrox last Friday through injury, returning to Ibrox for treatment, but would have been ineligible to feature against his parent club anyway.

The winger was however in the Pars changing room at Ibrox and was always expecting a tough night for his new teammates against the Scottish champions.

While Kennedy admits it will have been a ‘good experience’ for some of his colleagues, he wishes the Pars had put up more of a fight after taking a heavy defeat in Glasgow.

“I was in the changing room with the Dunfermline boys,” he continued.

“It was always going to be a tough game and a good challenge. I would have liked to have played but it was a good experience for the lads playing at Ibrox in a big game, we just wish that we did a lot better.”

After Kennedy watched his new side go down 5-0, the teenager admitted that his Ibrox teammates proved why they are at Rangers with their performance against the Pars.

“They are top players and that is why they are at Rangers,” he concluded.

“It is a massive club, you could see how they played last season and carried that into this season. They are a great side and it is hard to get near them.”