KILWINNING Rangers boss Chris Strain believes his table-topping side can perform better as they continue their march towards the Super Premier Division title.

The Buffs will be looking to get back to winning ways in the league when they face Kilbirnie on Saturday. And Strain believes his side have yet to hit top gear.

“I think we can play better and we’ve talked about our form since the turn of the year," he said.

“We hit a really good spell but unfortunately because of the weather the season has been a bit stop-start and it’s been difficult to find our rhythm again.”

Despite only losing once in the league in 2018, Strain wants more from his players.

He added: “We’ve been managing to grind out results but we’re not a team who can rely on defensive strength to go and win games.

“We need to play to our strengths which is obviously attacking, looking forward and trying to score goals.

“We’ve not been as fluent as I’d like us to be and I’m asking the guys at this moment in time to forget about what the three points means and just do what they do.

“That way the three points will be a result of their behaviours rather than trying to eek out results.”

That defeat came at the hands of title rivals Pollok. It was also the first time The Buffs had lost in the league since September. The Abbey Park side got back to winning ways at the weekend by defeating Troon in the cup.

And Strain says getting the win was important.

“Yeah it’s obviously good to bounce back, the [Pollok] defeat is now a distant memory for us," he said.

“We just roll on, all these things are important in terms of momentum.

“We didn’t play particularly poorly against Pollok but when you don’t win games questions start getting asked of character and whether you can get over the defeat and what it means to you.

“Especially when you were undefeated for such a long time like we were.

“Yeah, it was important to win.”

Strain is confident, if his team continue to play in the same manner they have for the majority of the season, they won’t be far away from winning the league. When asked about Saturday’s opponents, he responded: “We played them [Kilbirnie] in the cup at the very start of the season and they gave us a difficult match.

“We won 4-2, but it really could have been anything that night.

“Both squads were a bit experimental and there have been changes between then and now.

“They’re a good young, forward-thinking team and they have the ability on their day to turn you over because they have an enthusiasm and a freshness.

“That youth means they play with an exuberance and they are keen to get on the ball to make things happen. If they click on the day it could be dangerous.

“Similarly, from the other side that youth in the team can sometimes lead to inconsistency and hopefully we catch them on an off day.”