Neilston co-manager John Paul Dow urges players to remain grounded

The Farmer’s Boys came from behind to win 2-1 away at Larkhall Thistle last Saturday, with Paul Young scoring a late winner.

That made it two wins from two in the Central District First Division, to add to three wins in the Sectional League Cup. While Dow admits he couldn’t have dreamed for more when he took over alongside Martin Campbell in June, he has warned his message to the players to keep their feet on the ground is not to get carried away.

He said: “Since we took over the players have been absolutely fantastic. The boys have certainly reacted in a good way to us and they like the way we work.

“We’ve won five out of six competitive games, the one we lost was against Pollok where Tam Hanlon scored three of the best goals you are ever likely to see.

“So far it has been fantastic but there is a long way to go.

“We told the players that on Saturday, to enjoy their night but make sure they are tuned in at training next week and for Vale of Clyde on Saturday.”

Neilston trailed early against Larkhall and had to recover from a shaky start against Forth Wanderers the previous week.

Dow praised his squad’s battling qualities, but he insists the slow starts are a habit Neilston will have to break if they are to mount a promotion challenge.

He said: “It was a great win on Saturday, the boys battled really hard. Larkhall is always a hard place to go.

“They took the lead very early but we were able to dig in and turn the game back our way. They’ve showed us that in the last few games. It is a bit of a worry that it takes us going behind to get us going but that’s up to us to change.”

“Their goalkeeper pulled off some great saves, when that happens I was thinking it might not be our day and to be honest we would’ve probably taken a draw after going behind so early.”

Meanwhile Neilston will add to the squad this week with midfielder Ralph Gamba, previously with Glasgow Perthshire, expected to sign.