Dunfermline boss James McPake has revealed a frank dressing-room discussion was behind the improvements that left him frustrated by a third straight league defeat.
Adrift to a Reghan Tumilty header from a 26th-minute corner, the Pars had not laid a glove on Hamilton Accies before the break in a display McPake confessed was ‘nowhere near acceptable’.
But the Fifers boss has told how he was able to stand back and let his players have their say before he and assistant Dave Mackay stepped in to rally the side for the second 45 minutes.
Debutant Josh Cooper, sent on as a substitute after an hour, went close with three efforts in an encouraging performance, and Lewis McCann struck the bar with a cross-cum-shot.
Ewan Otoo also blazed over with time running out before a grandstand finish failed to find an equaliser for Dunfermline, who failed to get Birmingham City defender Tommy Fogarty registered in time for the match.
“At half-time, that was probably as annoyed as I’ve seen the players with each other, which allowed us to stand back a wee bit,” said McPake after the 1-0 defeat.
“And, then, obviously you have your say as well.
“There were some senior players in there, but some younger ones as well, having a say and having a go, and demanding standards that weren’t there in the first-half, and we know that.
“Every supporter of both teams that watched that could see we were passive and we weren’t getting close enough to Hamilton.
“The reaction did come, but it shouldn’t take half-time and them going in and having a go at themselves.
‘Having a right go’
“It shouldn’t take me then having a go and Dave [Mackay] then having a go.
“Then you feel for 15 minutes everybody’s just really having a right go at each other and calling each other out.
“That’s what happened at half-time, and you see the reaction in the second-half.
“But it can’t take that, we need to come out and start games like that.”
The statistics show Dunfermline just shaded possession and had as many shots on goal as their hosts.
But the difference in a tight game was Tumilty’s set-piece winner.
“The first-half was nowhere near acceptable,” added McPake. “We lost a really poor goal, which we’ll look at; it’s another set-play.
“In the second-half, we do come back into the game. At that point, sometimes you say it’s too little, too late.
“But we created probably more chances in that second-half than we have over the course of the season. That’s a positive.”
Injury update
Dunfermline, who sent on 18-year-old Sam Young for his league debut at half-time in place of the out-of-sorts Sam Fisher, also lost skipper Kyle Benedictus to injury in there 64th minute.
“We think it’s nervy, in the hamstring, and we weren’t going to risk it,” said McPake who also explained the removal of Kieran Ngwenya and Chris Kane.
“That was always the way it was going to go with Kieran, just with the minutes.
“And Chris Kane, again, with the minutes. They’re edging along to get to the point where they can play 90 minutes.
“Bene will be fine, I’m sure. Kieran is fine and Chris Kane is fine, and we’re now getting a squad.”
Meanwhile, McPake has praised the impact made by Cooper in his half-hour cameo after he signed a one-year deal on Friday.
“I think the changes going on helped,” commented McPake. “Josh Cooper in particular was a real goal threat. He had three chances and he’s in there devastated he’s not managed to score.
“But I’ve seen that [goal threat] from the start and that’s why I was so desperate to get him in.
“He’ll help.”
Conversation