Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl maintains his men cannot afford to dwell on their Hibs hammering as they prepare to host Rangers at Central Park.
Nicholl was bitterly disappointed with the way his side capitulated at the weekend as they went down 5-0 at Easter Road, although he has made it clear to his players that feeling sorry for themselves is not an option with such a huge game ahead tomorrow.
“The mood after Saturday was no different from what it was after losing at home to Dumbarton, or losing at home to Raith, and I felt worse then,” the Northern Irishman explained.
“I don’t mind losing games and that’s not a defeatist attitude but there’s a way of losing and I just want to instil that in them.
“I know there’s going to be difficult times, but you can’t let the opposition score goals as easily as we did because you just make things hard for yourself.
“If the opposition have worked really hard for their goals, or it’s clever play or whatever, I’ll accept that.
“But there’s times where you can look at it and say: ‘He didn’t really do his job there, he made it easy for them’ so that’s the disappointing thing.
“There’s got to be a spirit and determination about the team at all times.
“If you are going to lose a game it’s because the opposition have really worked hard for it, not as easy as we made it for Hibs.
“So you get all your frustration out after the game, you have a meeting on Monday night and this time you are a wee bit more constructive and you let the players talk.
“Then you get the ball out and away you go again, because we face another massive game against Rangers.
“We’ve got to make sure the spirit is good and the atmosphere is good because you don’t want them going out on the pitch down or feeling sorry for themselves.
“You’ve got to keep the players up and keep them lifted.”
The death of defender Dean Brett’s partner Gemma from cancer earlier this week has cast a huge cloud over Central Park, and Nicholl has told the player to take as much time as he needs before returning to the club.
Some sort of tribute is expected before the game tomorrow, and the manager admits it has been a difficult few days for everyone associated with the Fife club.
“It was absolutely horrific news,” he continued.
“Dean came in here throughout everything that was happening and he was trying to keep his spirits up and tries to keep things in perspective, but what’s happened this week is just tragic, tragic news.
“And it’s hard to cope with because Dean is a lively wee guy, a wee character.
“The club can only do what they can and do the best they can for him.
“He knows that we’re here whenever he’s ready to come in amongst us, and we’ll help the family as much as we can.
“The hard thing is getting on with it, but we’ll see how things pan out over the next few weeks.”
Nicholl also revealed yesterday that he hopes to add three or four new faces before the transfer window closes, but added: “It’s like everything else.
“Some go ahead, some fall through, some are undecided and you have to wait for them.
“We’re just waiting for things to be finalised, and there’s nothing to report until things are done.
“I was hoping to get someone in for the weekend but the way it’s going it could be a bit rushed.
“We’ll see.”