Dumbarton manager Jim Duffy hopes that Saturday’s 1-0 Betfred Cup win over Annan Athletic can give his side belief in the remaining group games as he acknowledged that the last three fixtures will be difficult.
Ryan Tierney struck in the second-half at Galabank to hand a new-look Sons all three points.
Duffy’s side looked comfortable in their away win, but the 60-year-old admitted that the scorching conditions may have taken its toll on his players.
He said: “The organisation of the team, for not knowing each other, was really good and I don’t think Annan had a shot on target, so that really pleased me.
“We understand that the next three games will be extremely difficult, not just because we’re playing teams from higher levels but also squad wise.
“It was good for the players but it would have taken a tremendous amount out of them.
“We don’t have the luxury of changing five or six players to freshen things up so the next few games are going to be tough.
READ MORE: Dumbarton boss looking to add five new faces
“The win will give the boys a little bit of belief that if we work hard and stick together, then we’ll be a difficult side to play against.”
Duffy continued to rebuild his squad this past week with five new signings - Ryan McGeever, Rico Quitongo, Ruaridh Langan, Mati Zata and PJ Crossan - all playing a part on Saturday and the Sons boss hopes to get another deal over the line this week.
Duffy added Rangers youth prospect Matthew Shiels to his squad last night before tonight's Betfred Cup clash with Morton.
The gaffer added: “It’s not easy to attract players to Dumbarton because we don’t have a whole host of things to offer them and we can’t compete financially with a lot of clubs, but one thing we can offer them is a platform.
“We’ll see if we can add one or two more players before the start of the league season, and I’m hopeful of adding one more this week.
“It’ll be a tight squad so we’ll have to wait and see over the course of the season whether they will be good enough or not.”
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