There seem to be two types of coach on the Scottish grassroots circuit; the dewy-eyed dreamers who believe they can orchestrate a panache-laden path to the Premiership heights and the rugged realists who recognise life is a tough business in the lower leagues.

John Steele, the director of rugby at Dumfries Saints, falls firmly into the latter category. However, his efforts and those of his coaches, Nick Humphries and Kenny Brown, are reaping rewards, despite all the problems associated with being an unfashionable club outside the central belt. Thus far in their Scottish Championship League B campaign, the club have recorded six victories and a draw from their seven fixtures and are five points clear of their nearest rivals Preston Lodge FP.

In these circumstances, Steele is understandably satisfied with the efforts from his precocious squad but, as a PE teacher at Dumfries Academy, he appreciates the difficulties of keeping youngsters involved these days. Quietly, methodically, he unveiled a string of statistics to back up his argument that the numbers participating in the game have fallen dramatically in the last 20 years and although he is hopeful that recent Scottish Rugby Union initiatives will help to reverse the trend, he is not in any danger of being confused with Mr Micawber in the optimism stakes.

Instead, Steele and his staff are battling away in an environment which demands incessant labour and boundless reserves of resilience. "It's a struggle at times, but it's just a fact of life that we lose youngsters when they go off to university and the chances are that we won't see them again," said Steele, whose charges should be guaranteed another success on their travels against bottom-of-the-table Dunfermline on Saturday.

"We are actually doing pretty well in comparison to some other clubs in this region. Annan have problems, Stewartry aren't the force they used to be, neither are Wigtownshire - I remember some really big, bruising battles with them - and even when you look at a club with the tradition of Langholm [who were thrashed 104-14 by Dalkeith on Saturday], it shows you that this is a challenging time.

"The positive thing is that our team have so far proved they are up for the fight and I've been impressed with the way they have responded after what was a difficult season for us last time round. They are playing for one another, they are showing a lot of resolve and the attitude at training is first-class. We only have three married guys in our squad and the average age of the boys is 22 or 23, so there is room for them to develop and they are performing well as a team. That always makes you feel good."

There is a healthy atmosphere at their home matches as well, with a sizeable number of fans offering vociferous support to Dumfries and cheering on such exuberant individuals as former Scotland rugby league talisman Paddy Coupar, whatever the weather conditions or the figures on the scoreboard. That is not the case at many other organisations in the division and Steele does not pull his punches in analysing the malaise.

"I remember when you would find most sides being able to field three or four teams on Saturdays, but you will be hard pressed to find many places where that is still happening," said Steele. "As a teacher, I've seen kids opting out of sport and finding other things to do and I don't think we are doing anybody any favours if we try to gloss over the problems. We couldn't get our seconds out last weekend for a variety of reasons and it is hard, there's no doubt about it.

"I love rugby and so do the people whom I enjoy meeting on my travels with Dumfries. But that is another issue for us: when we have to go to places like Perthshire or further away, it is a bit of a trek. Don't get me wrong, we love going on the road and the feeling on the way back when we have won is tremendous. But you have to keep working away to achieve any success."

At this stage of the season, Steele is reluctant to cast his gaze beyond what could be a crunch encounter with Preston Lodge on November 1. However, he craves promotion and acknowledges that nobody can afford to stand still.

"We'll have a full squad back for the Dunfermline trip and we will go in with a bit of confidence," said Steele. "We've played seven times and haven't been beaten yet, so the lads are starting to build up some momentum. But you can't afford to look beyond your next opponents."

It is a commendable attitude. There is no prospect of these Saints thinking that they are better than everybody else. Or not until the title is wrapped up.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

It is not too often that we feature women's rugby, but Aberdeenshire Quines celebrated their 20th anniversary on Saturday with a series of special events at Woodside and highlighted why they have become one of Scotland's leading clubs. From their founder Fiona Murphy through to their current president Sarah Butcher, this organisation has developed an all-inclusive feeder system which is always planning for the future.

TALKING POINT

One could not fault the former Glasgow Hawks coach Jamie Dempsey for accepting a new role with the BT Academy, but the Anniesland side has slipped into some dangerous territory. They might be seventh at the moment, but will have to be careful to avoid getting dragged into a protracted winter dogfight.