BEITH Juniors boss Chris Strain has hailed the strong mentality his players have shown following their Scottish Cup disappointment.
The Mighty exited the competition at the first preliminary stage last week - being reduced to nine men en route to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bo'ness Athletic.
However as they returned to West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) Premier Division action, the Garnock Valley outfit quickly put that defeat behind them.
Strain's side picked up a point from a tough midweek trip to Beechwood Park, drawing 0-0 with Auchinleck Talbot, before bringing Largs Thistle's unbeaten start to the season to an end at Bellsdale on Saturday with a 2-1 win.
And the Beith boss was pleased for a number of reasons after the positive week for his side which brought them back to within seven points of early pace setters Clydebank.
Strain said: “We missed out on league duty due to cup action last week and it meant that we fell down the table a wee bit.
“It was important to get ourselves a win to get back up the table and, more so, gather a bit of momentum.
“Getting these wins early keeps you in touch with the early leaders.”
While the Beith boss admitted that performances have no been perfect yet this season, he believes that after some squad turnover, his side are showing signs of getting back to their best.
Strain added: “In terms of performances this season, they’ve not been sparkling in any way shape or form – but they’ve not been poor either.
“There’s a lot of endeavour there, and a lot of new faces are working hard. I can see gradual improvement in terms of the understanding between the players.
“We are getting better and I think we’ll be better over the next fortnight as we get more training time with the players.”
The Bellsdale boss also accepted the disappointment of their Scottish Cup exit however, Strain was keen to focus more on how his side have shown resilience in light of this.
He continued: “Obviously we were disappointed with the Bo’ness result, it probably came at a bad times for us as we had a lot of players missing due to injury or suspension – we just have to take that one on the chin.
“We got a few players back for the Talbot game, dug in and managed to get a good result there.
“Then we won our home game against a good Largs team. Four points from those two games is a good return.
“I’m delighted with the victory on Saturday, the performance was okay, we’re getting better.
“Defensively I think we’ve been very strong but we’re still not as fluid as we’d like in attacking areas and that’s something we will be working on over the next period.
“It sets us up for the home game against Glenafton where we need to make sure that we capitalise on this good performance and continue that level of improvement to kick on for the next period.”
For Strain, it is exactly the type of mentality he wants to see from his squad.
He added: “During my time here it’s been synonymous that any time we’ve had a set back we’ve always bounced back positively – I think that’s down to the mentality of the players.
“If they feel they’ve let their standards slip or perhaps not performed in the way that they would like to they double down and make sure they produce on the next occasion.
“That’s really all you can ask, that they learn from their mistakes. There’s an honesty and appreciation that they’ve maybe not hit the heights you expect and you make sure that you go and get there the next week or next couple of weeks.
“That shows you the mentality of the squad and I always think that has been the case in my time here."
Now, it is just a matter of kicking on for the reigning champions to get well and truly back into the title race.
Strain commented: “It’s a good mark and a good trait for the players and I think they deserve a lot of credit for that.
“We’ve played two teams that are bang on form and taken four points from it, it might just quieten down a few of the detractors in terms of where we are at this moment and time.
“We know we are not where we want to be however, we are working towards that, and we are getting their quicker than most people maybe think.”
Next up for Beith is a home match against Glenafton Athletic on Saturday, August 24, with kick off at 2pm.
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