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Raith Rovers' Paul McMullan on his relief at finally breaking goal drought After missing the final three months of last season due to an agonising knee injury which required surgery, Raith Rovers winger Paul McMullan has been raring to go in the current campaign and at last netted his first goal for the club in the 1-1 home draw against Stenhousemuir on the William Hill Championship’s opening weekend. Ex-Celtic, Dundee United, Dundee and Derry City star McMullan, 30, also produced an encouraging display last Saturday as unbeaten Raith moved onto four points from their first two Championship matches this term with a 2-1 league success at Queen’s Park thanks to Charlie Telfer’s deflected opener and an Anton Dowds penalty. When asked to sum up his tricky opening year in Kirkcaldy, which saw Rovers finish fifth in 2025-2026 to miss out on the promotion play-offs but also win the KDM Evolution Trophy under Dougie Imrie who had taken over from sacked Barry Robson last November, McMullan told the Fife Free Press: “Last season didn't go particularly well for myself personally. "I tore my meniscus (during a 2-1 league defeat at Ayr United on January 31) which wasn’t great. "I spent a lot of time down in the gym which was tough, especially when the boys were going well towards the end of the season. "If I could have told you why I struggled last season I would have fixed it myself! "It just never all clicked and eventually I ended up getting that injury which finished the season for me early. "I obviously missed the cup final (Raith’s 4-1 KDM Evolution Trophy showpiece win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Firhill on April 5) as well. "It's always nice to get a run in a cup and give the fans a day out and get them starting to celebrate. "Overall in the league, we wanted to be in the top four. "That was our goal at the start. "We had a late rally at it, but to miss it was disappointing. "It wasn't a great time but I'm glad to be back involved in playing and hopefully can have some good times this year. "I worked hard in the off-season, came back and felt ready to go. "This season, to finally get a goal was nice and hopefully we can produce more of that going forward.” When asked to elaborate on why his overall feeling about Raith’s exploits last season was one of under achievement, McMullan added: “We had set ourselves a target at the start of the year. "When you don't reach that, you feel a wee bit of disappointment and a wee bit of regret. "You can't undervalue coming away with a bit of silverware though. It was that which made the season a bit more memorable for the supporters. "I think we were wanting to be at the top end of the table. "You usually take the first two rounds of games as they come, try and get as many points as you can and then see where that leaves you. "We've started okay this season. We probably would have liked to have won our home game. "But to go away and get three points is a good start and we'll take it from there. "It's hard to tell if the squad is better this season than last season, it's still early days. "We had good players last year and we've got good players again this year. "We just need to try to find the right mix and the right fit and hopefully we can do it. "I think you want as many guys that can score goals in your team as possible. We have good players and hopefully it's just about up to us to show that on a Saturday.” When asked if he was disappointed that Raith didn’t have a competitive fixture this weekend, McMullan said: “I think we would have rather had another game this week to keep our momentum going. But it gives us a wee bit of time to reset our bodies.”