Glenafton boss Craig McEwan is refusing to get carried away with his side’s climb to the top of the Super Premier Division.

They assumed the leader's mantle from long standing Ayrshire rivals Auchinleck Talbot last weekend with a deserved 2-0 defeat of Rob Roy.

But that result has not convinced Southy that the Glens’ focus at this stage of the season has to be on the pursuit of points to safeguard their top flight status.

He said: "All the friends and acquaintances who have got in touch since last Saturday to ask how it feels to be top of the pile have received the same stock answer that my target is to get safe by putting 25 points on the board.

“ Then and only then will I assess what my players can or cannot do in terms of the Super Premier title race which I will admit is currently shaping up as going right to the wire.

“It's hard to think otherwise when you consider the league campaign has not even reached the halfway stage for the vast majority of teams yet we are now the fifth different side to occupy top spot.

“Talbot will undoubtedly be in the frame, Rob Roy will come again, Pollok are looking strong while only a fool would write off Hurlford United and of course Kilbirnie Ladeside about to become our next up opponents on Saturday.”

The fiercely competitive Southy, currently hampered by what remains of a six game dugout ban, shunned away from putting forward the claims of his New Cumnock playing charges even racking up five league wins on the spin - six if you take in all competitions - have promoted Glenafton a point clear of nearest challengers Auchinleck.

He added: "People outwith our club might laugh, but the players here are doing nothing different to what they did at the start of our season when we picked up just one point from our first five league games.

“The guys worked their socks off back then and have continued on that vein but they are now getting a share of the breaks as a reward but nothing more than that.

“Probably our turning the corner moment arrived when we faced my former club Arthurlie at Dunterlie and were trailing 1-0 at half time and reduced to ten men through Darren McGill being red carded.

“It was not a good situation to be in but the players to a man just refused to accept defeat and battled their corner to carve out a superb 2-1 victory that has proved to be the catalyst for them remaining unbeaten ever since .

“Our form is encouraging but nobody needs to tell us just how fine the margins are between success and failure so we simply cannot afford to rest on our laurels and think of ourselves as the finished article.

“Right now it’s pleasing to be top of the tree so to speak but a single defeat could drop us down to fifth place so it’s vital that our focus is on nothing other than winning our next game, starting with Kilbirnie coming to Loch Park on Saturday.”

The former Raith Rovers, Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir defender is set to be sweating over a couple of potential loan deals before the Senior transfer window closes next Monday as he looks to strengthen his playing hand.

He said: "Jamie McGeoghegan moved down south for work reasons in early December and we suffered a bitter sweet blow last week when Michael Wardrope was rewarded for a string of great performances since coming back here by Ayr United recalling him from his loan deal.

“And as if to prove that bad news comes in threes, Daniel Orsi, in great form of late,, severely damaged his ankle ligaments during our win over Rob Roy and is facing anything from six to eight weeks out of action.

“This unwanted hat-trick leaves us down to a bare 15 players inclusive of two goalkeepers and with only my No.2 Craig Potter providing outfield cover so it’s imperative we try to bring in some new faces.

“But I’ve never been one to just bring in bodies for the sake of it and the right quality of player has to be available before I’ll be tempted into any transfer moves.”

Meanwhile, new Blantyre Vics gaffer Murdie McKinnon has revealed a willingness to listen to offers for experienced midfielder Ryan McGarry and one hears Troon striker Sean McKenna has put pen to paper for Central First Division promotion contenders Wishaw.