Paul Cairney insists Albion Rovers need to take a good look at themselves to avoid becoming the whipping boys in League Two.
The former Hibs midfielder made his first appearance in two years on Saturday when he climbed off the bench to make his Rovers debut.
But it wasn’t a memorable first outing, as Brian Reid’s men lost 2-0 at home to fellow strugglers Brechin to slip to the bottom of the table.
Rovers are yet to pick up a point from their opening three games and head to in-form Annan Athletic on Saturday desperate to get off the mark.
And Cairney says the young side have to get their act together.
The 33-year-old said: “It’s not been a great start.
“To tell you the truth, we need to take a good look at ourselves.
“And that’s no disrespect to Brechin because they came with a game plan and played much better than we did.
“I said in the dressing room to the boys it’s nowhere near good enough.
“We’ve got a young team, but hopefully with the gaffer’s experience – and even mine when I’m playing – we can get it right.
“We are going through a bad patch, but you see the players at training every week and they do work hard.
“That’s definitely not them out there.
“We were second best all over the pitch against Brechin and I hope we can put it right.
“We’ve not had the best start and people will maybe be thinking we are the whipping boys now, so we need to go into training and work hard to get a result on Saturday.”
Cairney is on the comeback trail after an ankle injury in pre-season kept him out of Rovers’ hectic start to the campaign.
His experience will be vital for the club’s hopes of avoiding the dreaded relegation play-offs and he hopes they can kick-start their season at Galabank on Saturday against an Annan side who beat Premiership outfit Hamilton Accies in the Betfred Cup last month.
"Annan have been doing well,” Cairney admitted. “It’s a tough place to go, but hopefully we can go there with the right mindset and get that first win.
“It’s been two years since I last played, but I’ve been working hard to get fit. I’ve still got a wee bit to go, but hopefully I can get in the team for this Saturday so I can offer my experience.
“I feel I can bring a lot to the team.”
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