Dougie MacDuff believes Irvine Vics are making progress even though he endured defeat on his dugout debut yesterday.
The Westenders have suffered this summer with manager Brian McLuckie resigning, replacement Alan Kelly quitting after three days for health reasons and players heading out the door.
Goals from Logan Stevenson and George Thomson piled on the disappointment as Saltcoats won the Sheena Thomson Memorial Trophy match for the first time.
Derek Kennedy's penalty set up a grandstand finish but Ciaran Walsh's red card meant any comeback would have to be completed with just 10 men.
It was too much, too soon for Irvine yet there was plenty to encourage MacDuff who arrived only last week and faces a race against time to beef up his squad before the West of Scotland League season begins on Saturday, July 17.
He told Ayrshire Live: "Effort-wise, it was absolutely tremendous. We spoke to the boys before the game and told them to compete and make it hard for them.
"It wasn't better than what I expected as I knew the boys that were here were experienced players plus we've brought quality down to the club. I think we will get better, a lot better.
"There's other boys coming in next week so competition for places will be a lot more competitive. We will step the training up.
"At my previous clubs, we've always been there or thereabouts and given good accounts of ourselves. My teams have always been hard to beat so hopefully we can continue that."
There was a good crowd inside Victoria Park for this North Ayrshire derby and Irvine showed they had something about them when Jamie Donnelly tested Saltcoats keeper Alan McKelvie from long range.
However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with a strike from distance of their own.
Midway inside the Irvine half, Stevenson decided to try his luck from a free-kick with the ball taking a late bounce and beating keeper Matthew Weir who will know he should have done better.
Another set-piece chance arrived for Stevenson from 20 yards in the 34th minute but this time Weir was right behind it.
Brandon McEvoy headed just wide for Saltcoats in the 56th minute with Kennedy firing over three minutes later during a rare Irvine foray forward.
It would be Saltcoats who would double their advantage in the 65th minute when Robbie Laidlaw's slide-rule pass was calmly slotted home by Thomson.
Irvine had a mountain to climb but, to their credit, really stuck to their task with the central midfield duo of Declan and Ciaran Walsh turning in eye-catching displays.
Ciaran Walsh was brought down in the box for an Irvine spot-kick which Kennedy converted with the ease to reduce the deficit in the 68th minute.
However, Ciaran Walsh saw red soon after and if Irvine were going to equalise, they would have to do it short-handed.
With nine minutes left, Sean Tidser – younger cousin of one-time Morton midfielder and current Kelty Hearts star Michael – had a header from Declan Walsh's corner cleared off the line.
And in the last minute, patient build-up on the edge of the box presented Irvine with one last chance but the final effort was dragged wide.
Reflecting on the noisy support generated by the Irvine fans, MacDuff added: "It was fantastic. I wasn't expecting that. This is a very passionate club."
Saltcoats No 2 Chris Friel – who was in charge with boss Iain McMillan self-isolating – said: "We knew we were fit and we were going to have a battle. They are a good team so we set ourselves up for that and we're happy with the outcome."
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