DISAPPOINTED Beith boss Johnny Millar has warned his side must tighten up at the back after suffering a surprise home loss.

However he insisted there was no sense of panic after the Bellsdale Park club went down 3-2 at home to Pollok.

Millar missed the match through flu but was given a full report from coach Steven Convery, who took charge for the match in which the hosts went down to only their second league defeat of the season.

The manager, however remains pleased with progress so far this season and said: "I hate missing games but I wasn't well but got a full report from Stevie and I heard we lost some soft goals which is something we must stop doing.

But he added: "I can't be too sore on the boys. We have played eight games and won six and are still top of the league - I would rather be in our position than any of the other teams. We lost to Kilbirnie but then had a great win at Cumnock and have a good squad.

"Of course we want to challenge for the league - but there's no panic. We have just three teams to play Girvan, Rob Roy and Auchinleck Talbot until the end of the first quarter. I would say at least six or seven teams are in with a chance of the league and there's a long way to go."

Millar's attention switches to the Scottish Junior Cup on Saturday as his side host little-known Inverness Thistle in a second round tie.

The manager said: "I am trying to find out more about them. We look forward to the tie and will hopefully get through. Everyone enjoys the buzz from the Scottish Cup and it would be good to have a run."

In other Scottish Cup action this weekend, Kilbirnie Ladeside host top East Coast side Penicuik Athletic and Dalry Thistle are at home to holders Glenafton Athletic.

Ardrossan Winton Rovers, who defeated Muirkirk 6-3 on Saturday, host Dunbar.

Meanwhile, Ardeer Thistle boss Derek Gemmell took positives from his team's performance as they went down 6-3 away to Irvine Victoria in a high-scoring Ayrshire District League clash.

But he felt a key decision went against them.

The manager said: "At 4-3 down, I thought we had the momentum and the boys put a lot of effort into it. I thought the fifth goal was offside but you can't win them all. In the first half we will take responsibility for the formation we played. At half-time we changed things and Lee Munro made a difference when he came on. We are near the bottom but have a good squad of boys and will hopefully pick up. Irvine Vics are a hard side to beat and I know their manager Stevie Wilson, who was my boss at Ardeer. We hadn't had a game for a few weeks so that probably affected us."