At the end of yet another utterly shameful week for our top clubs on the continent — well, two of them at least — it’s hard to be too optimistic about the state of our national game.

Everywhere you look, it’s negativity. That’s understandable, of course, given what has transpired over the past few days. But it doesn’t make it any less depressing on the whole.

Not that Stenhousemuir supporters are feeling it, mind you.

It’s nothing but sunshine and rainbows at Ochilview these days, and with good reason. The Warriors are absolutely flying.

Last weekend’s 2-0 victory away at Queen’s Park extended their unbeaten start to the new season to eight games in all competitions and, in doing so, set a new club record.

That came just six days on from dumping Motherwell out of the Premier Sports Cup to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.

Euan O’Reilly (centre) scored the winner as Stenny dumped Motherwell out of the cup

The fans have become so accustomed to watching their side make history of late that anything less than a victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle today will be seen as a huge disappointment.

Expectation is growing at Stenny. It’s frankly unbelievable that, just two years ago, the club were embarking on a fifth consecutive season in the fourth tier. Yet here they are.

Speaking after last Saturday’s win at Lesser Hampden which sent his side top, manager Marvin Bartley was quick to roll out the usual cliches.

‘These things mean absolutely nothing after three games,’ he said. ‘It’s about where we are when the season finishes.

‘It’s not rocket science. We have to keep working hard. There’s a thin line between confidence and complacency. We’ll remain on the right side of that.’

Professionalism personified. But, underneath it all, he must be doing cartwheels.

It wasn’t too long ago that he was being dropped right in the brown stuff at Livingston midway through last season, tasked with trying to pull off a miracle and keep them in the top flight. That was never going to happen.

However, while results didn’t improve, performances certainly did. From the outside looking in, the players appeared to buy in to what the caretaker boss was selling.

Yes, he was in charge when the club’s fate was sealed, but he shouldn’t have been held responsible and deserved the opportunity to try and get the club back in the top tier at the first time of asking.

That he was asked to apply for the permanent position was seen as an insult by Bartley himself, who departed Livingston with a bad taste in his mouth at the end of May.

Manager Marvin Bartley has bounced back from his Livingston disappointment in some style

It was something of a surprise that he was quickly chosen to follow in the footsteps of Stenny’s greatest-ever manager in Gary Naysmith after he made the switch to Ayr United. But things couldn’t have gone any better.

To top a Premier Sports Cup group containing both Livi and Championship title favourites Partick Thistle was impressive. 

That Stenny have since accumulated seven points from the opening three league fixtures as well taking the aforementioned scalp of Motherwell suggests that this is a team capable of upsetting the apple cart this season.

The fact that they are part-time makes challenging at the top end significantly more difficult, but not impossible.

They only have to look at how Arbroath went about it in similar circumstances back in 2021-22. Under Dick Campbell, the Red Lichties embarked on a remarkable campaign which saw them push Kilmarnock all the way to the last game.

Two late goals for the eventual champions to seal a comeback win in the penultimate fixture ultimately took it out of Arbroath’s hands, with the club settling for second before being eliminated in the play-offs.

So why can’t Stenny aim to replicate something similar?

Part of the reason why Arbroath were able to stay involved in the conversation for so long was because they had built up momentum in the early part of the season.

They simply kept ticking along and picking up points by hook or by crook, until people eventually started taking them seriously. It’s a decent blueprint for Bartley and his men to follow.

Maintaining Ochilview’s fortress status would help their cause. Indeed, they lost just once at home on their way to promotion from League One.

Gary Naysmith took The Warriors from League Two to the Championship before joining Ayr Utd

Teams certainly won’t relish the trip. Today’s opponents know a thing or two about that, having taken just one point from their two visits last term.

Caley aren’t just here to make up the numbers this season either, incidentally. They too are undefeated, with three draws to their name going into this weekend.

At some stage something will have to give for both of the newly promoted clubs. But until that time comes, their respective fans might as well just enjoy the ride.

As should the rest of us, for that matter. Goodness knows we could do with a feel-good story or two.