UNDER-pressure Irvine Meadow boss Stevie Rankin conceded his team were caught up in a relegation dog-fight after slumping to their fifth defeat in seven games.

The Meadow Park side on Saturday went down 3-0 away to a rejuvenated Beith side they had hammered 7-2 at home just five weeks earlier.

Now Rankin is warning his players to stand up and be counted and curb their indiscipline as they prepare for a testing trip away to Glenafton Athletic.

Meadow find themselves anchored at the bottom of the Super Premier Division with just four points, which is a far cry from this time last season when they were challenging for the title.

Rankin is determined to get through the worst period of his two-and-a-half years in the hotseat and told Sporttimes: "Our form has been abysmal and the table does not no lie. We are the worst team in the league and the table does not lie. We are in a battle without a doubt and really need to start picking up wins. But we are not throwing in the towel."

He was bitterly disappointed with Saturday's result and said: "For the first 20 minutes I felt we did ok and created some chances. Michael Keenan's sending off was harsh as I don't think there was much in the challenges. That made it difficult for us but we must improve on our discipline, we had a player sent off at Troon a couple of weeks earlier."

The manager is demanding an improvement and added: "I am bewildered with how things are going. We have a good squad with quality players but are not doing well enough.. It's tine for the players to stand up and be counted."

Looking ahead to the Glens match Rankin said: "They had a good result at the weekend but we will be looking to win. Our striker Ross McPherson has been out injured for seven weeks but was on the bench on Saturday and will hopefully feature."

Meanwhile Irvine Victoria continued their dream start to to the season with a 6-0 win away to Muirkirk preserving their unbeaten run and keeping them top of the Ayrshire District League..

Manager Stevie Wilson is delighted with their progress and said: "It was a potential banana skin at Muirkirk who have improved a lot since we last played them but we did a professional job and were delighted with the result."

However he says they face a stiff test on Saturday as they host his former club Saltcoats Victoria.

Wilson added: "They had a great result in the Scottish Cup, winning their replay away from home so it will be a test but we are looking to take three points,"