CRAIGMARK Burntonians manager Ian Patterson is hoping for a bumper crowd when his side take on fellow title challengers Ardrossan Winton Rovers this weekend.

The Dalmellington team sit top of the Ayrshire District League, three points clear of Irvine Victoria and five clear of Winton and Maybole.

And Patterson insists all the pressure is on their opponents when the sides meet at Station Park on Saturday.

He said: “I think, when you look at the league table, all the pressure is on Winton to get a result. If we win, then we go eight points clear of them with two games in hand.

There is no pressure on us except that it is another game to play.

“We have nothing to lose.

They have been on a good run lately, Bryan Slavin and Drew Walsh have done well there and they beat Irvine Vics twice.”

With a spate of recent postponements, ‘Mark haven’t played since a 3-1 home win over Annbank United on November 18. Their last two home games – against Ardeer Thistle and Lugar Boswell Thistle – were postponed and Patterson wants to help the club off the field when they are doing well.

Patterson added: “Hopefully we can get a big crowd. We haven’t had a game in a while and it can be difficult at this time of year. You have no revenue but you still have to pay electricity and heating bills so we want to help the club off the park if we can.”

Centre back Kris Stewart and forward Jordan Drummond have joined Craigmark from Lugar as they look to strengthen their squad for the second half of the season. The squad has been completely overhauled this season but Patterson knows how important they could be if the club are to reach their target of fifth place in the Ayrshire District League.

He said: “We have signed Kris Stewart and Jordan Drummond from Lugar. That is our 14th signing of the season. There has been a big transition this season and we now have 23 signed players.

“Basically, it’s a whole new team. It just shows that there has been a change in Dalmellington and we can now attract players. The club is picking up.

“I’d be happy with a top five.

I know I said seventh earlier in the season but I think we have got enough points now to aim higher. We still have a lot of games to play – there are 12 left – but it would be a good progression. The top three get promoted and fourth goes into a play-off.”