East Kilbride have put down Lowland League marker coming through tough start to season, says Ronan Hughes

Ronan Hughes claims East Kilbride have put down a marker in the Lowland League with their march to the top of the table, and says other teams would have struggled with their run of games.

Kilby have lost only one of their six league games so far against Rangers ‘B’ but have beaten Tranent, Hearts ‘B’, Broomhill, Celtic ‘B’ and Gala Fairydean Rovers, while knocking Motherwell ‘B’ out of the SPFL Trust Trophy first round.

Midfielder Hughes, who on Saturday was made vice-captain to Gary Miller, reckons that’s a formidable start to the season ahead of this weekend’s top of the table clash with Bo’ness.

He said: “We wanted to try and get a good start, because we had a tough run of games and we wanted to try and get as many points as we could.

“If you put those fixtures in front of any other team in the league they wouldn’t be able to do what we did, so it’s a good start.

“We put down a marker. We knew that Tranent, the ‘B’ teams and the likes of Broomhill were going to be good.

“We want to go all the way this year and win the league.”

Hughes, 23, raised a few eyebrows during the summer when he left Championship side Hamilton Accies, but says he’s enjoying life at K-Park.

Hughes, who is helping an uncle with kitchen and bathroom fittings, added: “I’m loving it. It’s different from being full-time, but I feel like I’ve adapted quite well to being part-time.

“I think a lot of people under-estimate the standards of the league, and it is good. I’ve scored a few goals, and I’m happy to help the team win any way they can.

“People seemed to be surprised when I left Accies but I kind of had an idea. They were going through a big rebuild and it was probably for the best not just for me but for them, to start something new.

“I had been