David Wotherspoon insists the Dunfermline players have to decide between “survival” and “folding” after their “wake-up call” against Hamilton Accies.
Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat saw the Pars slip three points behind in ninth place as they turned in an insipid display in Lanarkshire.
The loss stretched their run to five games without scoring a goal and left new boss Michael Tidser “angry” and “frustrated”.
The head coach left his players in no doubt as to his thoughts after boos from the travelling support greeted the final whistle.
And, with Airdrie moving to within seven points at the bottom, Wotherspoon accepts there are worrying times ahead for the Fifers, who now host Morton on Saturday occupying the dreaded relegation play-off place.
“It’s very frustrating,” said the former St Johnstone favourite. “It’s not the result we believed that we could get.
“We’ve got to take a long, hard look at ourselves. And really think about what we want to be doing in the next few weeks.
“Do we want to survive or do we want to just fold? That’s the question he (Tidser) has put to us. We’ve got to take responsibility.
‘It’s going to be a battle’
“This was a real wake-up call, where you’re fighting for your life and you don’t get that result.
“We can’t just dwell on this and down tools. We need to be ready for the next fight.
“That’s Morton at home and the boys need to be ready to go because it’s going to be a battle.”
Wotherspoon started on the right of a three-man midfield and had one of Dunfermline’s best opportunities when his first-half shot was blocked.
But he was substituted ten minutes after the break as Tidser tried a change of formation with the introduction of a second striker in Connor Young.
“Listen, there’s only so much the defence and the goalkeeper can do to keep them out at the back,” added Wotherspoon, with Dunfermline going into the match after consecutive goalless draws.
“Strikers, midfielders, all over the pitch, we need to take responsibility in getting the goals.”
Wotherspoon has also been considering the role he can play in trying to turn around fortunes for the team more generally.
At 35, he is the oldest and most experienced in a squad that is even younger following the most recent youthful recruits.
‘I feel like I’ve let them down’
“A little bit, yes,” he responded when asked if he feels any added responsibility to guide others through the current predicament. “That’s how I feel.
“I feel like I’ve let them down in games like these. I haven’t helped them in the situation when they’re youngsters.
“They’ve come into the situation where we’re fighting against relegation. I feel like it’s on our shoulders to help them.
“That’s where I feel like maybe I’ve let them down, in a way.”
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