Iain Davidson is in no doubt of the magnitude of the task that faces Raith Rovers after defeat to Falkirk left them fighting for their Championship lives.
Lee Miller’s 71st-minute strike, guiding in a Lewis Kidd cross and taking advantage of a lapse of concentration in Rovers’ defence, proved the game’s telling moment.
For a team that has scored just twice in their last 10 league games on the road, the goal always looked like being decisive and, despite plenty of effort, the Stark’s Park men remain in trouble.
Leapfrogged by Dumbarton, thanks to their win over Morton, ironically earned by on-loan Rovers player Lewis Vaughan, just two points separate Raith from Ayr United a place below in second-bottom.
With basement side St Mirren gaining ground with every game, John Hughes’ men now have just five matches to stave off dropping into League One.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” said Davidson, who returned to the side after three games out sparked by injury. “It’s probably not about performances now, it’s about results.
“Make no bones about it, that’s what it is now. If we can get two wins from the remaining five games, the six points would hopefully be enough.
“But that would depend on what the teams round about us are doing as well.
“It’s a serious time and we’ve got to stand up and be counted,” he said.
“Confidence is a massive thing in any sport and in training we knock the ball about and keep possession, and then come Saturday it’s something we have been lacking, there’s no getting away from that.
“It’s about being brave, and brave’s taking the ball, and maybe confidence is playing a big factor in that.
“But, it’s just about getting over the finishing line and making sure we keep our status in the league, and then hopefully trying to regroup in the summer.”
With skipper Jason Thomson failing a late fitness test on a foot injury, Rovers made two changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Queen of the South the previous week.
Kevin McHattie provided some balance to the back four at left-back and Davidson added some calmness in a crowded midfield, and they held their own early on and struck the woodwork through Craig Barr in just the 10th minute.
But their resistance became more and more desperate as the game wore on and Falkirk saw more and more of the ball.
Bob McHugh struck the bar for the Bairns before Miller’s decisive moment just six minutes after coming off the bench.
Nick Walsh, the referee who oversaw the melee at the Hibs and Morton match in midweek, angered Rovers by penalising Ryan Hardie as he threatened to break clear just moments before Miller’s goal.
However, the defeat, which also saw Kyle Benedictus and Ross Callachan replaced through injury, now places even more significance on Raith’s trip to face rivals Dunfermline at East End Park on Saturday.
Davidson added: “It’s frustrating and the boys are pretty low. We’ve limited them to very few chances and I don’t think we deserved to get beat.
“I thought for a team that’s always in the top three or four in the Championship we more than matched Falkirk.
“So, it’s a sore one to take but we’ve got a big game this weekend now.
“They don’t come any bigger than a derby.”