Largs Thistle manager Bryan Slavin is calling on his troops to produce another hard working performance as the relegation race intensifies in the Stagecoach First Division.

On Saturday, the Barrfields side travel to Irvine Vics who are another team within the club’s sights as they attempt to escape the drop. It is a 2pm kick-off at Victoria Park.

With four teams getting relegated from the league, there is little room for error at this stage after Thistle’s poor start to the season. But Saturday’s performance was a significant marker, and a pleasing turnround to recent defeats.

But Bryan still wants improvements, and said: “I think if I am being honest I was disappointed about losing two goals at Ardeer but it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise - it sobers the players a bit to see that there is still work needing done.

“If we walked out of Ardeer 3-0, we might have had a rose-tinted view of the situation. We lost a couple of cheap goals, and the second one was very preventable.

“It gives us something we can work on with the players defensively, and shows that we still have a long way to go.” “Irvine Vics are definitely in our sights with regards overhauling them. It won’t happen with earning three points on Saturday, but it would go a long way to helping us achieve our aim. This is a very similar situation to the Ardeer game, and we are going away from home again, and their pitch is very narrow, so we may have to change our tactics on Saturday.” It is a clean bill of health for the Vics six-pointer, other than Iain Fisher who has a long term ankle injury, while forward Sean Pierce has returned from honeymoon and is available for selection.

The Thistle boss praised striker James Marks for his persistence in scoring two quality goals, after falling to the ground before putting away his first strike, the scoring the cliching third goal with a spectacular overhead volley.

Bryan enthused: “It was a classy strike and it is good to have somebody like James who has that in his locker, it is great having James and Willie McClure up front who can lead the line - it gives us an extra edge going forward, and we also have Euan Lindsay and Pierce so we are pretty strong in that department.” Bryan was pleased that Largs were ‘firing on all cylinders’: “From the two central midfield, to the two centre halves, then you had Frizzell supported by Thomson, and Gilbride supporting Mark Murray on the other wing, it was almost like a series of small teams within a team, They were creating a lot of chances and we were continually pressing. We are now creating chances, and scoring goals and that is pleasing to se. We are trying to push other teams as far up the park as possible, and force them into making mistakes.” Dressing room spirits were also high after the match, and the manager pointed out: “We will certainly be looking at the two goals concded and how to prevent them at training. The second goal in particular came from open play and that is something we will be hoping to rectify.” The Thistle manager watched Vics play last year, and described them as a hard-working, solid outfit, but “If we can go and apply ourselves, then I have every confidence we can come away with a good result.” Asked how he enjoyed his first managerial experience, Bryan said: “It was hard to explain, it was a new experience, and there was a bit of fear of the unknown, but the boys played fantastically well, and the longer the game went on, I felt more settled. My heart was in my mouth at the end, but all that matters is we got the three points, which were richly deserved.” You can watch video highlights of Saturday’s Thistle match at the Largs and MIllport News facebook page.