The on-loan Dundee United forward's 10 league goals is one more than Rangers' Kris Boyd, and manager John McGlynn hailed the impact Smith has had at Stark's Park.

"It's nice for Kevin and nice for the club to have someone in that position," he said. "Since I came here you've been looking at Sky Sports News and you very seldom see a Raith Rovers player at the top of the scoring charts.

"It's quite often that the club that gets promoted also has the top scorer in their team so it's nice from that point of view.

"It would be even better if he was our player, but we're very grateful to Dundee United that Kevin is here gaining first team experience. He's playing regularly and scoring goals, so he's enjoying it."

Smith's six-month loan period expires on January 5 and while anxious to retain the striker's services, McGlynn admitted that he may have to face the second half of the season without him.

"Craig Levein will be the one that decides what to do with Kevin," McGlynn explained. "If we can keep him that will be fantastic but it will be up to Craig to decide whether he feels Kevin can do a job in his first team.

"That may depend on how Dundee United are doing in the time leading up to when the loan deal finishes. They may have injuries and take him back.

"He's scoring goals and Craig may feel he can do that in the SPL. If that's the case and we've been part of Kevin's development then it'll have worked for everyone."

Asked whether losing Smith would hamper his side's title hopes, McGlynn replied: "It's a crystal ball to a certain extent. You can't deny that Kevin's goals are a contributory factor to us being at the top of the league.

"But you can't say for certain he'll go and score another 10 or 12 goals after Christmas. We'd hope we have the squad here to take it on if Craig does decide to take him back to Dundee United."

Raith look to make it six wins in succession as Peterhead visit Kirkcaldy on Saturday with three points crucial ahead of next week's top of the table clash against Brechin.

"The fact that we're top is something we have to take a pride in," McGlynn said. "We have to keep the foot on the gas, and put the pressure on the teams behind us.

"It's natural for people to look to next week's game against Brechin, but this Saturday's match is vital to keep our momentum going.

"Peterhead are seven points behind us but they are one of our main rivals. Winning the next two games could really cement our place at the top of the table."

McGlynn confirmed that Laurie Ellis returned to training fit after limping out of Saturday's Fife derby win – a slight calf strain not mounting to anything serious.

The main concern surrounds Mark Campbell, who played most of the 90 minutes at Bayview with a calf problem.

"We needed Mark to go through the pain barrier to get us that victory," McGlynn explained. "East Fife showed in the first half they were a big threat from set pieces, and although Mark's calf was bothering him at half-time it said a lot for him to go out and put on the performance that he did in the second half.

"He didn't think he'd done any more damage to it, but it's something we need to nurse along and hope it clears up."