SCOTT Bonar has heaped praise on his players after they made it nine games unbeaten.
Haddington Athletic have banished any lingering fears about an immediate return to the East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) First Division with a stunning run of form that has catapulted them up the table.
Three points on Saturday at Tynecastle was enough to consolidate their sixth place in the Premier Division table with eight games remaining.
The manager was continuing to look upwards and was determined to finish a memorable campaign on a high.
He said: “We are just focusing on the team directly above us; it does not matter who it is.
“There will be defeats along the way, we are not naïve, but whoever is above us, we will hang onto their coat tails.
“It will drag us up the league as well.
“We can win a couple of games and it will put us right in the mix for the top five. It is not out of our reach.”
Haddington have won seven of their last nine games to move away from the lower reaches of the table.
Along the way, they have overcome early goals to bounce back and secure points.
Bonar was quick to put the praise on his players for their hard work in ensuring the season was going well.
He said: “We are all playing for each other, working hard for each other, and training has kicked on again as well.
“They are working harder in training and that is not to say they were not previously, but I think that realisation that we need to put more hard work in has been evident.
“The players deserve enormous credit for it. It is definitely the team spirit and a right willingness for each other.”
The togetherness at the club has been further highlighted by more than a dozen members of the existing squad putting pen to paper to extend their stay at Millfield.
However, the manager was keen to stress that his team would not rest on their laurels as they get ready to host Craigroyston in the first round of the League Cup on Saturday.
The Capital club sit just above the relegation zone of the tier below Haddington but Bonar was taking nothing for granted.
He highlighted they had lost to the opposition in a pre-season friendly.
He said: “You have just got to play the same every week.
“The same mentality and attitude for the 90 minutes and it will take care of itself.”
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