Raith Rovers’ George Oakley looks back to the last time his side played Stenhousemuir and can scarcely believe now that some people of a Raith persuasion were at that time cursing their favourites only managing a 1-1 home William Hill Championship draw against the newly-promoted part-timers at Stark’s Park on August 1.

Fast forward two-and-a-half months and Stenny – seven wins and just one loss later – are top with 22 points from nine matches, two points ahead of second-placed Raith who have played a game more as the sides prepare to lock horns again at Ochilview Park in a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

And 30-year-old striker Oakley, who joined the Kirkcaldy outfit on a two-year deal this summer after leaving Ayr United, has been impressed with Marvin Bartley’s shock troops.

The forward, who has three goals in seven Raith appearances, told the Fife Free Press: “Stenny have done really well and I think if you look at previous years, the likes of Arbroath (another part-time club who’ve shone in the Championship) when they've come up, teams that come up normally do start very well because they're used to winning.

"They've kept the core of their team but I take my hat off to Stenny.

"We had them first game of the season here, it was 1-1 and people were looking at it going: ‘Raith should have won’.

"Yet Stenny went on and won eight after that. So they're a difficult side and it's a difficult place to go.

"It'll be an interesting game, but it'll be one that we look forward to.”