East Kilbride boss Kevin Rutkiewicz has warned his players against complacency after the Lowland League leaders moved clear at the top of the table.
Kilby are two points ahead of Rangers B – who can’t be crowned champions as per the rules of their inclusion in the fifth tier – and six points in front of third place Caledonian Braves after eight games.
Rutkiewicz watched EK come from behind to earn a last-gasp 3-2 victory at Spartans on Saturday to pick up their seventh win of the season, but with the visit of East Stirling tonight and Edinburgh Uni on Saturday to come, he says they can’t take the foot off the gas against some of the so-called smaller teams.
He said: “It’s a big week for us and I think we’d all agree that, on paper, we’ve done the hard bit of this week going to Spartans and winning at a very difficult venue against a very good team.
“So our next two homes games are so big because we can’t get complacent.
“We need to treat these teams like we are playing a Rangers B, Celtic B or a Spartans. This is the kind of game that tells you what this team is all about.
“In the past we’ve dropped points against teams that aren’t going so well, so we need to be really ruthless against East Stirling and Edinburgh Uni.
“We need to take the game to them and make sure they don’t think they can come here and kick-start their seasons.
“I’ve said that how we start the season can define it - as it did last year - and our start has put us in a position now where we will be fighting at the top end of the league.
“It’s up to us to keep ourselves there at that business end.
“There is a wee bit of daylight there at the moment but I’m well aware we are only eight games in and if Tranent win their two games in hand, they are only two points behind us.”
Edinburgh Uni have been the undoing of Kilby before and Rutkiewicz is wary of them.
He added: “Historically, the Uni teams seem to get results against us so there’s definitely a wee chink in our armour there.
“We need to treat every opponent the exact same, not get complacent. As far as I’m concerned it’s 11 versus 11 and you’ve got to earn the right to win the game.
"If we don’t turn up with our absolute A-game, we could let things slip so we need to be bang at it.”
Meanwhile, Rutkiewicz praised Saturday's match-winner Ronan Hughes for his fine strike that sunk Spartans.
The Lowland League leaders were 1-0 down at the break after Rhys Armstrong’s opener, but second half strikes from Cami Elliot and Reece McGuire put them 2-1 up.
Armstrong equalised for Spartans 15 minutes from time, but in the 89th minute Hughes’ rocket of a strike earned all three points.
And Rutkiewicz said: “The finish from Ronan is incredible.
“At that time in the game, tiredness kicking in, I’m thinking he should take a touch but he’s absolutely drilled it right into the top corner. It’s fantastic.”
• East Kilbride will face a trip to Deveronvale in round one of the Scottish Cup after the draw was made on Monday. The tie will be played on Saturday, September 17 at Princess Royal Park in Banff.
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