Frustrated Colin Spence fears too many late slips-ups have cost Irvine Meadow the chance to challenge for the title.
Meadow dropped two points at the death on Saturday as a stoppage time penalty saw them held 1-1 at home by lowly Blantyre.
Spence admits switching off in the closing stages of matches has been his side’s Achilles heel this season.
And he insists that could be the difference between Meadow being championship contenders and also-rans.
He said: “That’s Hurlford, Pollok, Darvel, Clydebank and now Blantyre where we’ve lost a goal in the last eight minutes.
“That’s 12 points we’ve thrown away from a winning position in the final minutes of a game.
“We could be right up there in a title challenge – that’s how good I think we are.
“But we need to start seeing games out and show a bit of resilience. We need to get that drilled into us a bit more I think.”
Spence also admits recent results have left him looking over his shoulder at the wrong end of the West of Scotland Premier Division table.
“Our form has taken a bit of a dip,” he added.
“We’ve only taken two points from the last 12 so results aren’t good enough just now.
“We were up the right end of the table and now we’re slowly but surely falling into the middle
part.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog league and we need to get out that wee rut we’re in just now.”
Meadow make a short trip up the coast this Saturday to take on Saltcoats in the first round of the Killie Pie West of Scotland League Cup.
And while Spence insists he’ll treat the Conference A strugglers with the utmost respect, he admits his eye is already on the following weekend’s home league clash against Rossvale.
“It becomes a must-win game,” he added.
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