East Kilbride must prove Tranent hammering was just a blip, says Mick Kennedy ahead of Caledonian Braves test

East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy says his side must show their shock 7-0 thrashing by Tranent was just a blip when they kick-off the first of three huge league games in a week this Saturday.

The K-Park outfit were on the end of the heaviest defeat in their history at the weekend when their Lowland League rivals sent them spinning out of the Scottish Cup at the second round stage, prompting Kennedy to brand his side as playing with "arrogance."

But it is back to league business for the unbeaten leaders when they travel to Caledonian Braves on Saturday, before a trip to Bo’ness United next Wednesday and a big clash with joint-leaders Cumbernauld Colts on November 11.

EK lead the way on goal difference from Colts, although they have played three games fewer, and Kennedy is demanding a reaction from his squad after a horror show on Halloween weekend.

He said: “I don’t think Saturday’s result makes us a bad team.

“We’ve hit really high standards this season and we fell way below them at the weekend, so we will just need to get back to working hard and taking it from there.

“Even if we’d won the cup game, we would go to Caley Braves expecting to play to a high standard.

“Our approach and mindset won’t change. Saturday was a blip and it is up to us to make sure that this one game doesn’t affect us.

“Si [Ferry, the assistant manager] and I are really demanding of the players and have high standards in everything we do.

“People are going to have natural dips, but I just felt the players were buying into the hype a little bit and not fully appreciative of what they were going to face on Saturday.

“The reality is they’ve been caught wanting.

“Seasons are all about momentum. We are never going to win every game, even at our own