DEFIANT Kilbirnie Ladeside manager Liam McGuinness firmly believes his side can escape relegation after victory in their most recent game raised optimism among fans.

The Garnock Valley side are caught up in a full-on basement dog-fight and are in third bottom spot as we head towards the business end of the season.

They hammered Cumnock 4-0 in their last outing a week past on Saturday, with the result giving the Garnock Valley side a major boost. But that win had followed a shock 3-0 loss at home to fellow strugglers Renfrew.

McGuinness, who took charge in November is hoping he can take a leaf out of former club Irvine Meadow’s book. Their highly impressive run has seen them climb to fourth spot following a poor start, albeit many of the teams below them have games in hand.

The Ladeside boss said: “It was a great result against Cumnock and we played really well. But we really should have beaten Renfrew the week before, as we missed so many chances and that was a really disappointing result, it was a game we were looking to win.”

“But the important thing is that we still have nine games to go and we really must look to win as may as we can. We go to Petershill on Saturday but must look to take all three points.

“I believe in the players and think we can stay in the Premier Division. We will keep battling as long as it’s mathematically possible. We thought we had turned the corner when we beat Meadow 4-1 late last year but they have gone on a really good run since then and we must start getting results.”

Meanwhile the club are closing in on reaching the £2000 target they need to sign new players through a Crowdfunding page set up during the Christmas holidays.

The boss added: “We have a good squad but are looking to bring in one or two new faces in the next few weeks.”

Meanwhile Ardrossan Winton Rovers are looking to continue their challenge near the top of the table as they head to Govan on Saturday.

Stevie Wilson's side are at McKena Park to take on third bottom Yoker Athletic as they aim to maintain their position as one of the frontrunners in a highly competitive League One.

The manager said: “Although we had no game last week the guys have kept on training and we look forward to Saturday. We must be positive and go there looking for three points. We only have nine games left as there haven’t been many call-offs so it’s an important time for us.”