DISILLUSIONED Troon FC manager Gordon Burns said his side had produced their worst display of the season as they crashed at home to Glenafton Athletic.

The Seasiders went down 1-0 at Portland Park in a Premier Division match which marked their first competitive action in three weeks owing to a weather-enforced break.

Now the gaffer is demanding a much-improved performance as his team head to Beechwood Park to take on Premier Division champions Auchinleck Talbot on Saturday.

And he says they must start being more consistent.

Burns felt his side could have done much better on Saturday and said: "It was a really scrappy game and I would say that was our poorest performance of the season We were second to every ball and were really just not at. It was just not good enough. I don't know if that was because we hadn't played in a couple of weeks. We are inconsistent and have won four league games and lost four, which will tell you everything you need to know. A win would have taken us into the top three but now are sixth."

While he was disappointed with the showing Burns was impressed with the contributions of substitutes Sean McKenna and Ross McCrea.

He said: "Sean was effective and made an impact when he came on as he gave us a lot of energy. He has missed a few games owing to injuries and work and is in with a chance of getting back into the starting line-up. Ross also added some pace and brought us more into the match."

Burns hopes the defeat can spur another Troon revival as they gear up for their final match of the year.

He said: "We lost 4-1 at home to Rob Roy the other week and then went on to produce one of our best performances by beating Bo'ness in the Scottish Junior Cup. Now I am looking for a reaction. But you couldn't have a better game to bounce back for as Talbot are the champions and it will be a test. If we play like we did on Saturday we will lose but I really feel we are more than capable of going there and winning if we play as well as we can."

Burns meanwhile is pleased with the draw for the Fourth Round of the ETHX Energy Scottish Cup which sees Troon play District League team Darvel away.

However he will not underestimate the challenge and said: "It's a winnable tie as Darvel are two leagues below us. But we won't treat them lightly as they scored six goals on Saturday. But it's a great chance for us to reach the last 16."

The boss hopes there will be no delay in the game being played and said: "Their park can be quite heavy and I hope the tie is not held up as the Scottish Cup tie at Camelon was called off a few times last year and that killed our season as we couldn't play for a few weeks."

Meanwhile Ayr United defender Peter Murphy is refusing to give up hope of the title despite Saturday's 2-1 home defeat against Dunfermline Athletic.

He believes Ayr were unlucky to lose the Ladbrokes League match and told Sportscene:"We were disappointed to lose the game but the worst thing about it was getting caught on the counter-attack after we had a period of pressure but you must give credit to Dunfermline because they defended very well. It's just a little sucker punch. We deserved more than what we got - at least a point and we would have taken that."