ONE could spend a lot of time trying to work out if the wheels have come crashing off the St Roch's bandwagon as a result of the Garngad outfit dropping seven points in their last four Central First Division encounters.

And the same amount of time could easily be devoted to working out whether Candy Rock boss Andy Cameron is correct in insisting this not the time to be pressing panic buttons as his playing charges are experiencing nothing more than a temporary blip in form.

It’s only a couple of weeks since the famous old Glasgow club momentously stood on the verge of going atop the First Division summit only to suffer a 2-1 defeat against Thorniewood United that was followed by a 2-2 stalemate with Johnstone Burgh last weekend.

“I’ve never felt so disappointed as I did when the final whistle sounded on Saturday,” admitted the ambitious gaffer whose line-up against the Burgh included just two players Jordan Logan and Martin Shields from the playing squad he inherited when taking up the managerial reins at the start of last season.

He revealed: “Jordan netted a brace of goals inside the opening 20 minutes (he’s now on to an impressive 16 goals for the season) and it’s no exaggeration to say we could have put the game well out of sight by converting just a small slice of the many scoring opportunities created during this purple patch.

“But credit to the Burgh for hitting us on the break and pulling back a goal before half-time because that lifeline acted to change the whole complexion of the game and they put us through the mill second half even though their equaliser never arrived until a few minutes from time.

“To have victory snatched from our grasp in this manner was a real downer yet it only reinforced my belief that winning games is going to be a lot tougher in this Division despite the guys not looking out of our depth up to now.

“Slipping ever so slightly off the pace is only to be expected given we are going through a learning curve at this level and we as a group have to batten down the hatches and work all the harder if we are to retain our top half of the table position.

Next up for fourth placed St Roch's is a home clash with one point worse off Lesmahagow whose players will be suitably boosted by yesterday’s appointment of local footballing legend Billy McDonald as their new team manager.

The former Partick Thistle ace and highly regarded youth coach, probably best remembered for his red carding in a game against Rangers for a spat with Paul Gascoigne, will be taking his place in the dugout for the very first time and Cameron fully expects the Gow players to get a lift from the new man at the helm.

He said: “I had always regarded Lesmahagow as one of the leading First Division sides and bringing in a new manager might just see them live up to that billing.

“For certain he will get an extra 10% effort out of every player in looking to impress him and I just hope my guys are every bit as fired up to get back on the rails and build upon our good start to the season.

“The leading pair Rossvale and Renfrew are otherwise involved in West of Scotland Cup ties so Saturday provides a perfect chance to close the gap between us, however I’m sure Billy will be preaching the same message to his troops.”

Cameron’s determination to make inroads on the frontrunners has seen him offer to switch the clash to Craighead Park if the monsoon like weather conditions threaten to make the James McGrory Stadium pitch unplayable and a decision will be made tomorrow.

Meanwhile, free-scoring Wishaw … 18 goals in their last four outings and sitting in third top spot just three points adrift of Rossvale … are regarded by bookmakers as a decent tip to be sharing the league leaders mantle following weekend events as Chris McGroarty’s men are strongly fancied to rack up a fifth league win on the spin at home to Thorniewood.

In other First Division contests, Maryhill will attempt to keep their revival going when Dunipace visit Lochburn Park and points are also at a premium in the remaining head-to heads where St Anthony's will strive to climb clear of the basement fringes when hosting the visit of Larkhall Thistle and third bottom Carluke Rovers will be looking to make home advantage tell against Neilston.

Elsewhere, Auchinleck Talbot skipper Mark Campbell has received the news he was dreading to hear after a specialist advised he should call time on his illustrious playing career as a result of the knee injury picked up in Talbot’s 4-3 defeat of Hurlford United last weekend.