Gary Naysmith on Stenhousemuir's solid League 2 start and what has impressed him so far

The Warriors 2-0 win at Bayview over East Fife saw the side climb into the promotion play-off positions on five points, having drawn the opening two fixtures 0-0.

“The players deserve a huge amount of credit,” Naysmith said of the East Fife victory. “It was a tough victory and a good performance away from home. We just about edged the game overall and we deserved to win. Darren (Jamieson) made a few saves late on but we had great chances earlier on in the match.

“The pleasing thing for me was that we were on the back of a difficult week. We started off at Peterhead, which is of course a long trip. Midweek against Rangers B was as tough a tie as you will get and that was probably our hardest match of the season so far.

“We lost a goal in injury time and went out of the cup despite playing really well. The attitude from the group to then go and win at East Fife is what pleased me most. Our fitness levels have been excellent too. That reaction bodes well for us going forward.”

Captain Gregor Buchanan, who was making his 400th professional appearance, headed home the Warriors opener, and the boss praised the defenders impact.

Naysmith said: “Gregor has done really well. All of the new lads have had a big impact, no one has really failed to make an impact. The group has bonded well and of course Gregor as captain has played a big part in that. He is an important player for us off the pitch and on it he has a great relationship at centre back with Nicky Jamieson.”

Stenhousemuir now host Dumbarton this Saturday as they look to continue their unbeaten run. Ahead of that match, Naysmith said: “It is only a start for us. Yes, it has been good but if we lost that game on Saturday we would have been on two points from three matches which all of a sudden doesn’t look great. We can’t drop our levels. The performances must continue and the desire to keep the ball out of the back of the net needs to always be there.

“Dumbarton are in a similar position to us in the table at the moment. Stevie (Farrell) knows what he is doing with his group. It will be a good game between two evenly matched teams. What we need to do is to continue showing that desire and effort.”