Vale of Leven are set to become the latest football club to disprove ex- Liverpool defender and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen's rather infamous prediction: "You don't win anything with kids".

A youthful Vale side had Jack Buchanan, Dougie Wilson and Kevin Montague on the mark in an outstanding 3-0 defeat of Carluke Rovers last weekend, which saw them assume leadership of the Stagecoach-sponsored Central District Second Division.

And with only four league fixtures yet to be fulfilled, (Stonehouse Violet (home), Royal Albert (away), Wishaw (away) and Thorniewood United (away), there's a new spring in the step of Millburn Park supporters.

Because they now firmly believe Hughie Hammill's side can hold on to pole position and clinch a first trophy success in decades.

Their lofty status is seen as a clear vindication of the one time Junior internationalist's close- season decision to "start all over again and build a team from scratch" on the back of their relegation last term from the First Division.

He didn't hesitate, quickly going down the route of promoting many of the Vale's Under-21 side, run by ex-team mate Peter McLean, as well as cherry picking a number of top players from other local juvenile outfits.

And his reward has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.

Yet the hard-to-please team boss was anything but in a celebratory mood when looking ahead at his team's run-in programme today.

"Yes, there's been a big improvement but we really should have gone over the finishing line long ago," he said, rather dismissively.

"I realise inconsistency goes hand in hand with young players, but what has been particularly frustrating is that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot, through somehow losing games where we were in a comfortable winning position going into the latter stages.

"I can think of at least nine points that were thrown away in those circumstances.

"And the upshot now is that we are not even assured of promotion, not with no fewer than five teams bunched together and looking like taking this title race right to the wire."

Hammill admits he and his players are not feeling under pressure from heading Forth Wanderers by the most slender of margins - a plus-two goals differential - with Cambuslang Rangers a mere point worse off.

Nor just being three ahead of rival challenging pair Thorniewood Rovers and Carluke Rovers, who both have two games in hand on the teams above them in the standings.

Hammill, one of the longest-serving Junior bosses going the rounds, added: "It's shaping up as a tight finish, but if we concentrate on winning our final four matches, then it doesn't really matter what anyone else does.

"Yes, we can be overtaken but it's not the winning as much as the getting out of this league which is our number one priority, so right now I would bite your hand off if you offered me third top place."

The likes of up and coming star turns Mathew Carr, Jack Buchanan, and Alan Gourlay have attracted many plaudits as well as the attention of leading Junior clubs, in Vale's rise to prominence.

But Hammill insists on also recognising the contributions of his sprinkling of older heads."

He went on: "Toby King, Alex Lacy and Hugh Ward have all stood up and been counted when it has mattered and now I'm also looking for big things from Alan Brown, who we recently bought back from Renfrew, in time to make a second time around debut against Carluke.

"The younger lads will be better players for having a year under their belts but the worry is that we'll lose some of them in the summer months once the higher league outfits start waving their cheque books.

"That said, we have every reason to be looking to the future with a lot of confidence as Peter McLean assures me he has another batch in the pipeline, with as many as six players capable of stepping up a level.

"I've always believed Junior football to be cyclical so maybe the wheels are set to turn in Vale of Leven's favour... at long last."