Dumbarton: Jim Duffy and Dom Thomas scoop League One awards

Thomas has slammed six goals in six games as The Sons have hauled themselves away from the danger zone up to seventh after a great unbeaten run.

That has earned Duffy and Thomas – on loan from Kilmarnock - the  Ladbrokes Manager and Player of the Month awards for February.

Duffy said: “Dom has been terrific for us. He’s an outstanding young player who is more than capable of playing at a much higher level.

“He’s one of four young players we brought in – Ben Armour, Henk van Schalk and David Ferguson being the others – because I wanted to get that enthusiasm, energy and ambition.

READ MORE: Duffy delighted with confidence-boosting Arbroath win

“Dom’s got that ambition to play at the highest level he possibly can and he knows that he’s got a platform at Dumbarton to show what he can do.

On-loan Killie star Thomas has netted six times in Sons' last five matches

“He will go back to Kilmarnock in the summer – but if they don’t want him I’m sure there will be plenty of options available to him.

“He and the other youngsters have got a desire and we’re getting the best out of them.”

While Duffy has been delighted with the youngsters, he has also added experience by snapping up former Motherwell and Dundee United defender Brian McLean who is a free agent after ending a second spell with DPMM Brunei in the Singapore League.

He said: “We’ve got Brian in after the clearance came through and he will be available for Saturday so that’s another good addition to our squad/

“He’s played at a higher level and he’s got experience so we’re delighted to get him on a short-term deal until the summer.

“Our form and our results have been a lot better in the last month or so.

READ MORE: Dumbarton extend unbeaten run with Arbroath win

“We’ve managed to get virtually all of our players available again after a number of injuries.

Sons unbeaten in their last six under Duffy as they climb the League One table

“And that has allowed us to play players in their normal positions because I was asking players to adapt to new roles.

“We’ve taken seven out of nine in the last week against the top three sides – and probably should have taken the nine as we lost a last-minute goal to Raith Rovers last Wednesday.

“We’ve got Montrose on Saturday and they are still knocking on the door of the play-offs so it’s another tough game but we want to maintain our momentum.”