Threave Rovers gaffer Vinnie Parker reckons ditching total football is beginning to pay off.
The Castle Douglas side recorded a narrow 1-0 win at Creetown to keep their hopes of progressing from the League Cup group stage alive.
And while pleased at the win, Parker reckons some tactical adjustments are now reaping dividends.
He said: “I had it in my head that if I became a manager, I wanted my team to play a certain way, which was total football and that was maybe me being naive. I felt we had the players to do it but we probably tried to build too much from the back.
“Instead of four, five or six passes at the back now we have maybe two or three.
“We’ve slightly changed our shape as well, which suits boys like Alex Henderson and Tommy Smith, and we’re working hard.
“On Saturday we conceded possession from our corner and by the time they broke into our box there were 10 men behind the ball.
“That shows the shift in mentality. We have to work hard and teams aren’t giving us anything.
“We’ve finally realised that - it’s maybe a bit late in the season but it’s still pleasing and it’s progress.
“There’s still three cups to play for and we’re determined to play as best we can, plus anything can happen in league.”
An early goal from Henderson proved to be the difference between the sides on Saturday, Creetown finishing with nine men after having two players – including their goalie – sent off.
Parker said: “We could have had more goals, I don’t think they had a shot on target. They had a fair shout for a penalty but apart from that they never really troubled us.
“We hit the post a couple of times, we missed a couple of really decent opportunities and the goal we scored was a bit of magic from Alex. It was a great strike and brilliant technique.
“There is a reason they’ve only been beaten 1-0 in their last three games at home which is that they’re hard to break down and well organised.”
The result left Threave as one of three teams topping the group on nine points, while Creetown have still to get off the mark.
This weekend Threave host Stranraer in the cup with victory vital to their hopes of progression.
Parker added: “It’s a big game, we have to win to get through.
“We hope it’s not a repeat of earlier in the season when we were electric on the Wednesday and they couldn’t get near us, then on the Saturday they beat us.
“We’ll need to be wary of that. Allan Jenkins will have the team up for it, they’ll be well organised and have good players.”
Creetown’s cup exploits see them face Wigtown who are still looking for their first points of the group stage.
