Arbroath crashed to their heaviest home defeat of Dick Campbell’s six-year reign at Gayfield as they suffered a 5-1 loss to Dunfermline.
The Angus side exited the SPFL Trust Trophy in emphatic fashion with Campbell firing a warning to his players ahead of the January transfer window.
And as Arbroath pick up the pieces ahead their Championship survival bid, it’s clear many questions will need to be answered in the coming weeks.
Here, Courier Sport outlines three talking points from the Dunfermline defeat:
Change isn’t always a good thing
Arbroath showed very promising signs of recovery in the second half of the weekend draw with Morton.
Dick Campbell proudly declared ‘that was a real Arbroath team out there’ in the aftermath of that clash.
He elected to make six changes to the side against Dunfermline, answering the call to give fringe players an opportunity.
Arbroath vs Dunfermline Athletic – Team News
Arbroath make 6 changes from Saturday!
C’mon the Lichties pic.twitter.com/1jbyh6137h
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) December 9, 2022
As he looks ahead to the January transfer window, he is right to assess his options.
But as they went 4-0 down within 36 minutes, many of Campbell’s questions were probably answered.
It would be unfair to finger-point and blame the fringe men for this loss.
But it’s clear that the strength and depth Campbell craves isn’t there, yet.
Christmas ‘came early’ for Dunfermline but January is just around corner for Arbroath
Dick Campbell pulled no punches in his post-match assessment of the defeat.
He insisted ‘Christmas came early’ for Dunfermline as the Fifers cruised to a comfortable win.
Campbell also made it clear that some of his players could have a ‘long road ahead of them’ as the January window fast approaches.
The Arbroath boss has made no secret of the fact that he will be doing some serious work next month.
Lichties have appointed Barry Sellars as head of recruitment and a lot of the spadework for January has already begun.
Campbell will also be backed up by funding from the Arbroath board.
And while there will are no guarantees of transfer success, there is a steely determination about Campbell to put things right in the New Year.
Tam O’Brien is a leader of men
Arbroath still have a core group of players who have been the bedrock of their success story under Dick Campbell.
One of those players is Tam O’Brien.
This hasn’t been a kind season for Tam. Injuries, red cards and suspensions have limited his appearances.
The one thing you’ll always get from O’Brien is full-blooded commitment.
That was clearly evident in the second period, as O’Brien took the game by the scruff of the neck before his consolation effort.
There is more to come from O’Brien. Much, much more.
And Arbroath will need him and the core group of stars who have powered the Gayfield side’s success story for the Championship run-in.
