Brian Reid has warned his Albion Rovers side they need step up their performance levels after a sluggish display at Stenhousemuir.
Goals from Botti Biabi and Mark McGuigan consigned the Cliftonhill side to their seventh league defeat of the season.
Rovers remain just two points off the bottom of the table and boss Reid says they need to pick up to keep their survival hopes on track.
“It was a scrappy game but the difference was that we lost two poor goals from mistakes,” said Reid. “It looked like it was heading for a goalless draw because there wasn’t much in it or any great chances.
“They never created too much and it was more about balls coming into the box and defending your areas.
“It’s disappointing to lose because we probably deserved something out of the game but I’m disappointed that we didn’t create more."
Saturday’s defeat against Stenhousemuir was Rovers’ first game since their Scottish Cup tie against Buckie Thistle on Boxing Day.
The Rovers boss handed debuts to a host of new players and although their chemistry will improve in the coming weeks, Reid knows his side need to pick up points during a busy schedule.
He said: “It’s important to remember that it was the first game in a while. It was the first time that our back four and goalkeeper had played together and it was the same all over the pitch.
“The break from our last training session on January 9th to the game was longer than any pre-season so it did feel like the first game of a season.
“The games are coming thick and fast so we just need to get ourselves going again quickly. There were some positives to take from the game but we need to improve and start to pick up points.”
Rovers’ main relegation rivals, Cowdenbeath and Brechin City, both failed to win on Saturday and Reid admitted that is a boost.
He said: “They were decent enough results for us but I try not to pay too much attention to other teams’ results.
“I’m only really worried about ourselves and we have to focus on our performances because we can’t control results elsewhere.”
Reid has added some older heads to his squad in recent weeks to address a lack of experience in his side.
Rovers carried an incredibly young squad for the first half of the season but the additions of Ryan Stevenson and David Cox could prove invaluable.
Reid said: “Our squad is more balanced now and we never had that before. The average age of our squad before the January window was 20 so we effectively played with an under-21 team in a man’s league.
“It was difficult but adding some experienced heads should help the younger boys. We still had two experienced centre-backs missing on Saturday and they’ll come back in and help the group.
“We had boys on Saturday that hadn’t played football in a long time but you could see their timing and performances improve as the game progressed.”
Gregor Fotheringham departed Cliftonhill after Saturday’s defeat to Stenhousemuir.
The 27 year-old enjoyed two successful spells at the Rovers but his departure was due to various factors as Reid explained.
“That’s what happens in football, people move on. Fozzy was down in England and away from football for a long time.
“He came back up to work in Scotland and those commitments made it difficult. Like everything else, some guys are probably not happy that they weren’t playing.
“But there are no hard feelings in football, I wish him well and good luck in his future career,” Reid added.
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