Positive vibe is the name of the game at Edinburgh City

Edinburgh City boss Michael McIndoe insists he was proud as punch after his side secured their first league victory in five months.

Edinburgh City boss Michael McIndoe

Findlay Marshall's second-half strike against Montrose on Wednesday night handed the Citizens just their third win in 33 attempts following a campaign of turmoil off the field.

The Meadowbank outfit were deducted six points in January for failing to pay their players on time and also faced a winding up order over an unpaid tax bill.

Former Bristol City and Coventry midfielder McIndoe, who grew up in Edinburgh, took over from predecessor Alan Maybury in October, six weeks before the club was plunged into crisis.

Only two from a squad of 22 stayed put while the rest departed for pastures new. McIndoe was left scrambling for players on a shoestring budget and was restricted who he could recruit due to the club breaching SPFL rules.

A host of youngsters on loan from Premiership sides jumped at the chance of first-team football, not to mention a player making the colossal step up from Sunday amateur league football.

Yet despite the adversity that confimed the club's relegation from Scottish football's third tier last month, McIndoe says his dressing room is bursting with positivity.

"You're looking at an average of about 19 in our squad - it's that young," McIndoe told the Evening News. "I'll give you an example from last Saturday in the dressing room down at Queens, some of the young lads are singing songs before the game in front of all their team-mates. That's what is happening. At not one point since this new group got together has there been any negativity.

"I'm really proud of them because they all got thrown together in January. This wasn't a handpicked group. We knew we weren't going to win a lot of football matches, we were very realistic about that but it was important that they compete. We've been very positive behind the scenes. We can only control what we can.

"We have been playing well without being clinical. And when you're putting out so many youngsters at one time, you're going to get mistakes. You have to accept that. We've had to put 95 per cent of them in at once.

"They needed the win - they needed that little something. It's interesting because they've held themselves better against the full-time teams in the division. But it was also important to put that winless run to bed and I know there has been a lot of stuff behind the scenes.

"But for me it was important this young group got a win because they've been close. I want them to have felt what it's like to win a League One football match as a young group because it requires a lot of energy, effort and concentration, particularly when it's 1-0. So to do it in the manner we did against a very good Montrose team really impressed me.

"We're the only team in the division playing 4-1-3-2. It's important to say that because it's a very attacking formation and it's what I believe suits the squad."

McIndoe is hoping to seal back-to-back home wins in the space of four days when Annan are the visitors to the Capital this afternoon. He recalls the personnel of his squad when he first arrived that included Danny Handling, Innes Murray, Ryan Shanley and Lee Hamilton to name a few.

"In our first five or six games we won two," he explained. "We caught up with Annan very quickly if you go back to October/November time. The old group were buying into my philosophies and identity and I actually felt we could push for the play-offs at that point. It sounds crazy now but we went to Hamilton and drew, we beat Annan and Alloa, we narrowly lost to Falkirk and then the uncontrollable kicks in.

"The things that happened usually happy once in ten or 20 years but to have them all thrown at you mid-season was tough. We had 20 of our 22-man squad leave so that was the hardest part. They had to leave because they were told they couldn't be paid. But we managed to assemble a new group within ten days.

"One of our players has come up from the Sunday amateur leagues as our hands were tied with who we could bring in. That's the reality. But I'm an extremely positive guy so I said to my coaching staff, 'We can't affect any of this, do we want to be at this club?' and the answer is yes. You have to adapt to the circumstances and I think we've done that well.

"If it means the football club have to drop down to League Two and reset then so be it. I'm excited for the future. We feel the dark clouds are moving away from Edinburgh City."