Jim McIntyre was pleased with the intensity shown by his Cove Rangers side as they rattled eight goals past Lowland League side Gala Fairydean.
Cove were clinical in front of goal with Rory McAllister, Robbie Leitch, Leighton McIntosh, Iain Vigurs, Fraser Fyvie (two) and Morgyn Neill all on target. An own-goal from Gregor Jordan rounded off the scoring.
It was just the second game under new manager McIntyre – who took charge a fortnight ago – after the defeat to Dunfermline in Stuart McKenzie’s testimonial a week ago.
The League One winners spent much of the game on the front foot and kept the Gala defence under constant pressure, which bodes well for McIntyre in his early days in the job.
“The way we put them under pressure and pressed them high up the park was really good,” he said. “We know we had better players on paper, but you’ve got to approach the game properly.
“The rain made the pitch really slick which was good for us, as we’ve got a lot of good footballers who can pass the ball. We got into some good areas in the first half and probably should have had more goals, but in the second half we showed a ruthless side.
“The most pleasing thing was the intent to keep doing it. Sometimes when you get a few goals in the second half players can start enjoying the game too much and wanting to overplay. But I thought they were excellent.
“It’s something we want to do (press high). We’ll not be able to do it against every team, but we do want to play on the front foot and put teams under pressure.
“If we can win the ball high up the park we’ve got players who can put the ball in the net.”
Cove were without new signing Gerry McDonagh, whose international clearance has yet to come through, but the striker was in the stands to watch his team-mates deliver a resounding performance.
McAllister and Leitch struck either side of a Zander Murray goal for the visitors, who caused one or two problems in the first half.
But McIntosh and Vigurs delivered a couple of well-taken goals at the start of the second half, with Fyvie crashing another in and Neill heading home from a corner.
Fyvie got his second, finishing off Shay Logan’s cross, and Jordan turned into his own net under pressure from Mitch Megginson to complete the rout.
McIntyre preferred a 4-4-2 system during his time in charge at Ross County and tried to get as many attacking players as he could on the park.
“I was pleased with that,” he said. “I tried to get as many attacking players on as possible, while still having a balance.
“It was good for me to see them in that type of shape, which will help going forward.
“I thought Leitchy did well. He’s still got a bit to learn in terms of positioning and when to press, but he took his finish exceptionally well and made some good runs.
“He scores some unbelievable goals in training and that’s what I want to see from him on a match-day.”