Stevie Farrell has warned his Jekyll and Hyde Sons that a repeat of their second-half showing against Queen’s Park will give them no chance at all of defeating Airdrieonians.
Farrell’s side lost three unanswered goals against the high-flying Spiders at the Rock to consign them to a second straight defeat, however the manager was keen to stress the positives of an impressive opening 45 minutes.
He said: “The second-half performance was particularly disappointing after the first-half we put in.
“In the first-half it looked like a really tight game between two decent sides. But the first goal kills us.
“There have been a few harsh words in there.
“We set up from the kick off to do something completely different. We didn’t do that. And that’s killed us.
“We’ve given them momentum straight from kick off. The first goal in this league changes games.
“In the first-half we proved how good a team we can be. In the second-half we proved we’ve still got a long way to go.
“If we play like we did in the first-half against Airdrie then we’ll give ourselves a hell of a chance. If we play like we did in the second-half then we’ll give ourselves no chance at all.”
With just six points separating second from ninth in an increasingly congested League One table, Farrell has revealed he has no concerns over shaky recent form that has seen his side now go three games without a win.
He continued: “It’s frustrating rather than worrying.
“If we can capitalise on the first-half performance and learn from the mistakes we’ve made in the second-half of the last two games then we’ll be absolutely okay.
“We have a lot of hard work to do before Airdrie though, and the players will be working hard on Tuesday and Thursday to put it right.
“It’s not time to panic. I don’t panic.
“I didn’t get carried away over the spell we had before the last two games, and I certainly won’t get carried away now.
“The last two games have not been good enough. But we’ll be absolutely fine.”
Farrell revealed that he hopes to welcome Paul Paton back to the side for the trip to Lanarkshire, and added that Sons fans can expect to see changes to his starting lineup.
“When you’re getting results and you’re playing well then everybody was quite rightly keeping their places.
“Now we’ve lost our last two everybody is coming in on Tuesday night wanting to get in that team for Airdrie.
“The boys understand that’s the law of the jungle.
“It’s a squad game, and we’re going to need the squad between now and the end of the season.”
