CUMNOCK have chosen Peter Leonard as the man to save their season and keep them in the top league of junior football.

Leonard stunned Girvan when he resigned on Friday to take over the vacant hotseat at Premier Division rivals Cumnock.

He was appointed manager less than a week after John McKeown left the club by mutual consent following their fourth defeat in a row.

The Nock have only won one league game all season as they currently occupy bottom spot in the Super League Premier Division, one point behind Clydebank and three adrift of safety.

Speaking to our sister paper, Leonard said: “I have really enjoyed my time at Girvan and had the opportunity to work with a fantastic committee. Winning promotion to the Premier at Yoker was the highlight of my time at the club.

“The Cumnock job is a massive one and this is the kind of opportunity which may not come around again.”

The new boss hopes to improve his new team’s fortunes after the 6-0 home defeat against Beith and said: “The heads seemed to go down after the first goal but hopefully I can help push them up the table.”

The new boss faces a baptism of fire on Saturday as his team face Auchinleck Talbot at Beechwood Park.

He said: “Tommy Sloan has a very good team but we must show we can compete with them. And it doesn’t get easier as we have a tough tie against Craigmark in the Scottish Cup the following week and then we face Girvan.”

It won’t be an easy task for Leonard with a Cumnock side that have lost seven of their 11 games in all competitions this season.

Prior to Leonard joining, the Nock enjoyed a comfortable friendly win over Maybole on Thursday, October 12. The Ayrshire District League side were brushed aside at Townhead Park as Cumnock ran out 7-2 winners.