Neilston caretaker boss Andy Whiteford is hoping to land the job on a permanent basis after guiding them to the semi-finals of the Strathclyde Demolition Cup.

The Farmer’s Boys did things the hard way at the Brig O’Lea on Saturday as they fought back from two goals down to defeat Fourth Division outfit Thorn Athletic.

Niall Cannon opened the scoring for the visitors and Nathan McLelland doubled their lead before the interval to leave Neilston staring a cup shock in the face.

Whiteford rang the changes midway through the second half and it paid off when Darren Boyle headed home from a corner before David Donnelly repeated the feat to level the scoreline.

It looked as if the game would be heading to penalties until Darren Jones slotted home the winner for Neilston in added time, setting up a last-four clash with West Park United next month.

Whiteford was delighted with the character shown by his players.

He told Barrhead Sport: “In a cup game, the objective is always to get your name into the hat for the next round.

“We knew with Thorn being a couple of divisions below us that they would come out the traps really fast and that’s exactly what happened.

“I think if we had gone 1-0 up it would have been a slightly different game but we worked hard and stayed patient and got our reward in the end. The character the guys showed from two goals down to win the game late on was fantastic.”

Neilston are on the lookout for a new manager after Kevin Muirhead stood down at the end of last month.

Whiteford, who managed the club 10 years ago, has overseen two fixtures after taking temporary change and revealed he has been in talks with the committee about his future.

He said: “The club have opened up for people to apply but I’ve been speaking to them as well.

“Nothing has been decided yet, that’s up to the committee, but I’ll keep doing my best while I’m the man in charge.

“I stepped down as manager seven or eight years ago and the reasons for that were the club wasn’t in a great place off the park and I had stepped back to help set up the youth academy, which is all thriving now. Off the park, I feel things are in a much better place.

“I’m enjoying it just now and, if it goes on longer term, then I would be happy.”

Neilston travel to Petershill this Saturday, with kick-off at 1.30pm.