The loss at Dudgeon Park was the first we have suffered in the league since making the step up from the Junior ranks, but Kane reckons the experience will be of benefit as we progress through the campaign.

“It was a bit of a learning curve, as a lot of the games will be for us this season,” said Kane.

“We’ve known since the summer that we have a huge challenge ahead of us this season if we want to be competing for honours.

“The result and performance at Brora served as a reminder that we still have a bit to go as far as matching up to the very best sides in the division goes.

“Being short of a few bodies didn’t help, but we never really got in the faces of the Brora players, which was the biggest disappointment.

“I accept having to make the long bus journey north to then play was a new experience for a lot our guys too, but we still fell short of the standards we have come to expect at this club.

“You have to give credit to Brora as well, they are a very good side and showed why everyone has been saying they are going to be competing for the title.

“But the main problem was that we never really got going and it annoyed us we never created any clear cut chances and made it a bit easier for Brora than even they probably expected.

“We did a lot better when we played Fraserburgh, the other of the top sides we have faced so far, but we know we are going to have to show a big improvement if we are to get the results we all want against the more established clubs.

“We know how high the bar is set, it’s up to us to keep working hard in training to ensure we going closer to the sort of levels you need to be at if you are to do well at Highland League level.”

Next up for us is a home clash with Keith on Saturday, with Kane looking to at least maintain our unbeaten run at Spain Park.

Kane said: “Making Spain Park a bit of a fortress would help us a lot over the course of the season.

“We showed when we beat Huntly 5-2 in our last home game that the pitch suits the way we like to play football because it allows us to get the ball down and knock it about.

“Hopefully we can do that against Keith, although we accept they will come here confident that they can also get a positive result.

“We are the new boys at this level, so we can’t afford to take anything for granted against anyone.

“It’s up to us to go out there and show we are capable of doing a lot better than we did last weekend.”