Stevie Lawless has called on Dunfermline to take a leaf out of Livingston’s book after crashing to the foot of the Championship.
The Pars suffered a chastening 5-0 reverse against Morton on Saturday, equalling their heaviest ever defeat against the Cappielow club and representing a new nadir of a grim campaign.
Dunfermline boss John Hughes acknowledged that ‘heads dropped’ in Greenock, while he cursed the naivety of a young squad.
Lawless, meanwhile, lamented a failure to ‘do the dirty side’ of the game.
And the gifted winger reckons Livi — with whom he was involved in 20 goals as they finished fifth in the Premiership in 2019/20 — are a shining inspiration of how to combine craft with graft.
“If I look at the teams that I have played for, I think about Livingston — that is what they have in abundance: desire, hunger and they work for everybody,” said Lawless.
“Football-wise, I think we could be really good. But we need that dirty side of the game where we earn the right to play.
“You can be the best team in the world but if you don’t do the ugly side of the game then it going to come back and bite you in the butt.
“We need to show a bit of togetherness, grit and aggression on the park. The dirty side of the game cost us.
“We were a little naive and gave away silly goals.
“If we can sort that side of our game I think we could be good enough to move up the table — but those are the basics; the foundations.”
‘There were words spoken’
The game was over by the time Kevin Clancy blew for half-time, with Gary Oliver, Cameron Blues and Gavin Reilly rippling the net.
A Coll Donaldson own goal and Robbie Muirhead’s clinical lofted finish made it a rout.
But for the interventions of Owain fon Williams, who made three fine stops after the break, Morton could have realistically won 8-0.
Hughes reckons the result could be ‘the best thing that happens’ to Dunfermline, providing it acts as a wake-up call for the remainder of the campaign.
And Lawless revealed that there were candid talks following the full-time whistle.
“There were words spoken after the game, which were needed,” added Lawless. “There was no pointing the finger at anybody — we know it’s a team effort.
“It is not just one person who needs that desire and hunger to throw your body in front of the ball or win your battle against your opposite number. It is the whole team.
“We need to go into every game thinking that it is a battle. If we don’t, then it will be a long season.”
