Allan Steel reckons the future is bright for East Kilbride Rugby Club after a young Torrance House side beat Strathendrick to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive.
The EK gaffer wasn't in attendance for Saturday's 22-5 away win, but after watching the game back he was impressed with his young charges as they closed the gap on fourth-place Kilmarnock to just a point ahead of hosting the Ayrshire outfit this weekend.
Steel said: "The boys were excellent at the weekend. We are down a few players with Covid and injuries at the moment, but there's guys coming in now from the second team who have filled the slots and are taking their chances.
"We went down there with a game plan to keep the ball and be physical - and the boys did that, 1 to 15.
"I watched the video back and we dominated possession, won our set-piece and we could have scored a few tries if we'd been a bit more clinical.
"A lot of these guys are stepping up and handling it well.
"This season has been about getting the youngsters through. That wasn't our plan at the start of the season, but with all the Covid issues and our inconsistent start, we've managed to bleed a lot of youngsters.
"We've got a young side again and the future is looking bright for the club.
"And these last few weeks will allow them to understand the demands of first team rugby.
"It will be a wee bit of a step up this weekend against Kilmarnock.
"That's the team we are fighting for fourth place with.
"Our target is to finish as high as we can and fourth is a realistic target for us."
East Kilbride have four fixtures to play between now and May 21 as they look to finish a stop-start campaign on a high.
And Steel added: "I think the team is capable of winning all of our last few games, but I think we need to get a few bodies back to do that.
"We will see how we go and if we can apply ourselves as well as we did on Saturday, we'll have a good chance."
The clash with Kilmarnock at Torrance House is a 3pm kick-off.
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