NEW Glenafton Athletic manager Paul Paton says he wants change at Loch Park.

Paton says a number of unexpected challenges have arisen since he returned to the East Ayrshire club he signed for as a player in 2022.

The former Dundee United midfielder moved back to New Cumnock less than a month ago following a brief stint with Irvine Meadow.

He saw some immediate success during his first game in charge, with the Glens defeating Ellon United 4-1 in the Scottish Junior Cup to halt a seven-match winless run.

However, since then it has been back-to-back defeats for Paton - first with a 2-1 league loss to Largs Thistle before the Loch park side were dumped out of the West of Scotland Cup after a 4-1 defeat at home to Shotts Bon Accord.

“It’s been a lot harder than I thought it would be," Paton said. "When you get to this side of it you realise.

“People aren’t happy, whether it’s work issues or family issues – everything is really difficult.

“It’s been strange because I know a lot of boys, but there have been a lot of boys added since I was here last year.

“It’s been really difficult in terms of trying to judge who’s good enough or not good enough in three or four sessions. That’s something I have really had to adapt to quickly.”

Despite his limited time with the squad so far, Paton admits he will have to ring the changes to get his side back on track.

He continued: "We don’t believe the squad is good enough as it is just now so there are going to be boys coming out and boys coming in – and that’s just how it is.

“Things aren’t good enough. We looked good against Ellon and that was fine. We lost daft goals against Largs and I’m the kind of guy who lost it at that.

“Then we lost four goals against Shotts, there’s obviously got to be a lot of changes. You can’t lose six goals in two home games and expect things to be okay.”

(Image: Glenafton Athletic/Picasa)

However, getting players in the door is something the new boss has found to be a challenge.

He added: “It’s not easy, you’ve got people we identify that we would like to come in and clubs are saying they are worth £3,000-£5,000.

“We are stuck between a rock and a hard place with where to go with that.

“There are players there that are good players but we need to get better players and we are going to sort that now.”

The former Northern Ireland international has also eyed a change in playing style which should help improve results.

He explained: “The last thing you want your defence to do here is take chances on the ball, you want to get it put through into the midfield as quick as possible. We are still making daft mistakes.

“It’s simple football for me, miss playing from the back and get it into the midfield – and play through the lines from there.

“We will work on it, and we’ll get there.”

Paton will now have an extra week to prepare his side, with the Glens out of action this weekend.

Next up is a home tie in the Scottish Junior Cup against Deveronside on Saturday, October 19, with kick off at 2.30pm.