East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy has delivered his half-season report card for the Lowland League, and is all smiles.

Kilby sit top after 20 games, five points ahead of second-placed Celtic ‘B’ and Caledonian Braves in third, with games in hand over both.

They’re also six or more points ahead of chasers Tranent, Linlithgow Rose and Broxburn Athletic, with games in hand over all of those sides.

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Kennedy was content after a 2-1 win at home to Albion Rovers on Saturday that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests, but says maintaining their high standards is hopefully what takes them to the League Two play-off.

The K-Park gaffer said: “In the context of the league and everything it has been a good few weeks. We’ve won a lot of games while teams round about us have dropped points, so hopefully we’ll come out in the new year in a really strong position.

“I always try and judge the league in the first half, at the halfway point. I think you can get caught up in the early stages.

“Things settle down when you get to the halfway point, that’s us 20 games in now, five points above Celtic, with a game in hand, and eight or nine above everybody else below us, and with games in hand.

“We’re in a really strong position and it’s now about going into the second half and maintaining standards.

“To get promoted you need to win the league, that’s a given. But for us, the club, the investment infrastructure and squad we have, real success for us is getting into League Two.

“We have to win the league, first and foremost, and that’s more difficult than people probably give it credit for, so we just need to keep getting to high levels of performance every week.

“Then hopefully that gets us to the stage where we’re in a position to go into the play-offs and see what lies ahead at that point.”

Kilby were 2-0 up and cruising through first-half goals from Jamie Hamilton and Scott Ferguson, but dropped intensity in the second period and the Coatbridge club netted through a Sean Fagan own-goal in the last minute.

Kennedy reckons his side should have been out of sight by the interval, but was pleased with their first-half showing.

He said: “I thought we were excellent, so I’m delighted, in the first half especially. When we get to those levels, we’re a really top side, and I’m really pleased with that.

“I don’t know if it’s because the first half was so comfortable, but when we came out again we didn’t get to the same standards.”

EK head to Cliftonhill for the return match against Albion Rovers on Saturday and Kennedy expects a different game on grass.

He said: “There were a couple of things we had to address, in terms of physicality, from last season when we were going away to parks like Albion Rovers’, even though we won there quite comfortably at the tail-end of the season – maybe Albion Rovers didn’t have a lot to play for.

“But I think we have a different physicality about us now, we’ll go there with a lot of confidence and belief but it’s just important to continue to pick up three points, as we progress.”

One down-side to Saturday’s win was an injury to Ian McShane that saw him replaced by Joao Balde early on.

Kennedy said: “Ian McShane has a bad injury, I couldn’t tell you why it wasn’t a foul, but it looks as if he has a bad injury to his foot, or just above his foot, and we will need to assess him and see how he is.”

Kennedy will dip into the transfer market to further bolster his squad, and is targeting a striker.

He said: “I think we’ve got one or two maybe to look at to bring in, and we’re looking at a couple of things just now.

“We’re definitely a centre-forward light, so we just need to assess that, and we’ll take it from there.”