Derek Ure says '˜Curb your Enthusiasm' to Shire support

But boss Derek Ure says anyone talking of title ambitions should curb their enthusiasm.

The gaffer was satisfied enough to have recorded back-to-back league wins after last weekend’s 2-0 home victory over Gretna 2008, but he says any notion that Shire are back in the hunt for the league crown, at this stage of the season, are probably “premature.”

That said, Ure is equally in no doubt he has the players in his squad who are more than capable of bringing back the three points from East Kilbride, but he is still playing down talk of Shire, who currently sit ninth, sprinting up the table.

“There was talk after Saturday that we were back in the hunt but I think it’s silly to get involved in that sort of thing, and also a bit premature at this point in time,” he said. “Admittedly there is not a great deal in it between top and bottom and while we have expectations they are different ones to those we had at the outset.

“So while we have ambitions we also have to be realistic. Maybe we will look again at the situation by Christmas, especially if we do manage to put a run of wins together, but at the moment all that’s important is that we bring home the three points from East Kilbride on Saturday and then look to collect the three points in the next league fixture we play.

“We have had a rough couple of months at the club and we have had to tough it out at times, so all we are looking for is to get a good performance on Saturday.”

Shire’s last league visit to East Kilbride, in September last year, ended in a thumping 5-0 win but Ure knows that day was a one-off and he is not harbouring any ambitions of being able to scale those heights again. But he still believes his team can win.

“I’d settle for 1-0 this time,” said the Shire boss who will have Graeme McGregor back. “The last time it was just one of those days where everything fell into place.”