DETERMINED Troon FC manager Gordon Burns this week praised his side for bouncing back with a vital victory which helped prove some critics wrong.

The Seasiders defeated Petershill 3-1 at Portland Park to close within a point of leaders Pollok, just a week after losing by the same scoreline at home to the frontrunners.

However he is playing down talk of a title challenge, saying the Seasiders only have an "outside chance" of glory.

Meanwhile substitute Jordan Muir, who came off the bench to seal victory, is hoping to help secure a top three finish for the Portland Parkers.

Burns was delighted with the result and told Sportscene: "That was a very important win for us. We have played better but I was pleased as we totally dominated the match and could have won ever more easily had we taken our other chances. It was a really controlled and solid performance. Everyone was disappointed with the Pollok result so it was a good way for us to bounce back."

He said he felt the team dug deep for the win and added: "It was a real controlled performance and that was encouraging I think some people questioned after the Pollok defeat if we had the bottle but I think we proved that we had. It was great to see Colin Spence scoring his first goal for us and Dale Keenan scoring. I thought Gavin Collins played well in his first game back in a few weeks after a hamstring injury."

He is playing down the title hype and added: "We have to go on another good run and hopefully that's the start of one on Saturday. We play Hurlford away on Saturday and must look to win there and we still have to play Talbot, so these two games could be important and the other to teams have still to play each other. We an outside chance of the title but we just keep winning to keep the pressure on them. We are doing well considering we were in the District League three years ago."

Muir, who joined the club in the summer after completing a scholarship in the United States, is impressed with their progress.

The former Boynton Under-19s player said: "It was an important win after losing against Pollok and it was good to get a goal. We have a very strong side with some quality players and hopefully the win starts another run. The aim must be to finish in the top three - that would be a good achievement and we can hopefully do that."