CUMNOCK Juniors boss Stephen Swift has hailed the mentality his players have shown to battle through the "nightmare scenario" facing the club.

The Townhead Park side travelled to face Shotts Bon Accord on Saturday, November 9, with just 13 fit, senior, first team players.

Despite the growing injury list, Swift's men battled to earn a vital 1-0 win and move four points clear of the West of Scotland Football League Premier Division drop zone - with two games in hand on sides around them.

Jamie Conn was the match winner on the day, notching the only goal just after the 20-minute mark.

“The amount of injuries we have is really testing us just now," Swift said. "We had two fit first team subs on Saturday.

“To go there and the manner that we did it, defending really well, was very pleasing. Hopefully that can boost the morale of the team.”

The boss was also pleased to see a tactical reshuffle pay dividends at the weekend.

After a number of fixtures where they have squandered leads lately, the Cumnock manager set out to make his side a tougher nut to crack against Shotts.

He explained: “We had been conceding too many goals so we said to the guys that we were going to set up a bit more defensive.

“We had to adapt and really buy into that to try and look for clean sheets. Going to Shotts, they are the type of team that ask so many questions of you.

“With that type of pressure, I thought the centre halves in particular were outstanding and we defended our box really well.

“We did well on the counter, typical of how football is at the moment we couldn’t get that breathing space which made us concentrate right to the bitter end.

“It was pleasing that they held that and we held out.”

Despite the victory, Swift still has a further headache to contend with after three players left the field on Saturday with suspected injuries.

After this Saturday (November 16), when Cumnock host Drumchapel in the South Challenge Cup, the East Ayrshire outfit are set to be out of action for three weeks before returning on December 14.

Swift says he will welcome the break in fixtures, which should allow time for some of his players to return to fitness.

He said: “You think the nightmare scenario can’t get any worse – then Daniel Higgins has to come off with a tight hamstring, Stefan McCluskey comes off with the same and Creag (Little) looks as if he’s done cartilage in his knee.

“There is three players again that are struggling, when you put all that in the mix it really is testament to the boys how much resolve they’ve shown within the 90 minutes.

“We’ll look to do a mini pre-season to get players back (during the fixture break), then when we get into December we’ll have a full squad. That’s probably the best thing we can do.”