Bo'ness Athletic's brand of football helping attract better players, reckons boss Willie Irvine

​The Newtown Park team are already eight points clear at the top of the East of Scotland Second Division after Saturday’s 4-1 win over Tweedmouth Rangers, and they have struck 44 goals in just nine outings after winning promotion last term.

“We have put ourselves in a great position already but we are only heading into our tenth match,” Irvine said of his side’s perfect start. “There is a long way to go yet. What we have done is give ourselves a good chance to match what we did last season, which was incredible.

“We know that we can score goals but our defence and our goalkeeper are playing so well too. We have had so many players in and out of the team due to holidays and injuries but we have been solid. To only concede six goals is a real achievement.

“For the level we are at, the squad we possess is quite something. The talent is there but also the work-ethic and professionalism of the group is something you would see way higher up the pyramid.”

Despite losing Tiwi Daramola to League 1 outfit Kelty Hearts in the summer, Athletic have continued to find the back of the net with ease, with a handful of players impressing including forward Finlay Shearer, who has joined on loan from the Fife side.

Irvine reckons that Athletic’s approach is an attractive proposition to bigger clubs looking to send out their young players to gain match experience.

"That is the key for us,” he explained. “We stick to how we play win, lose or draw. We care mainly about playing football the right way and passing the ball. We have no interest in going long or back to front. Finlay has scored seven goals in five games and he is only a young lad. Ryan Robertson has scored 19 goals. You can see that what we do is working.

"We’ve build up a great relationship with clubs like Kelty, Hamilton due to how we treat our players and how we go about things in general.”

Bo’ness Athletic now travel to Stirling University on Friday night in the Second Division as they look to make it ten league wins on the bounce.