Arbroath boss Dick Campbell has pledged his players will “fight to the death” for the club as they look to earn their first league win of the season.
Some supporters voiced their disappointment after the Lichties slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Partick Thistle, their fifth loss in a row.
Arbroath fans have not had much to cheer about this season, with just the one goal scored at Gayfield so far this campaign as their side sit bottom of the league.
Message to Arbroath fans
A repeat of last season’s fairytale may be a tall order for Campbell after their poor start, but he is urging fans to stick with his side.
“There’s a big message to the fans,” he said.
“The fans know me and I know them. I know what they expect and the one thing about Arbroath Football Club, we’ll fight to the death.”
Campbell believes having to shuffle his backline has caused some problems for his team.
Injuries and suspension – and the departure of Jason Thomson – has meant there has not been a consistent back four for the Lichties.
‘I feel for the new boys’
“There’s one or two things I’m not seeing just now,” Campbell said.
“I feel for the new boys that are coming in because, for example, we’ve never had the same defence in the first five games.
“Last year and the year before I could tell you the whole back four.
“This year we’ve had Tam sent off twice, two own goals and a penalty kick given against him, we’ve had goalkeeping mistakes and that’d just not happened to us (previously).”
Campbell is also not shying away from the main problem in his team.
His side mustered up just the one shot against Partick Thistle.
“My big issue is that, from middle to front, we’re not creating and I’m very disappointed with that,” he said.
“The young boys who have come in are not seeing the Arbroath that we’re used to.
“But we’re missing the Tam O’Briens of this world, the Michael McKennas and we can’t afford to do that.
“Now we’re missing Scotty Allan and we’ll miss Tam next week again.”
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