Chris Hamilton reveals attitude adjustment Dunfermline must make for ‘massive’ Arbroath clash

After one win in seven matches, Dunfermline’s Chris Hamilton is eyeing Tuesday night against his former club as a chance to get back to winning ways.

A victory for the Pars would lift them into fourth in the Scottish Championship, despite their current disappointing run.

Arbroath will come to East End Park managerless after their own poor form led to the departure of the long-serving Dick Campbell.

Regardless of the mood in the visiting dressing room on Tuesday night, Dunfermline must ensure they are “at it” after Friday’s 3-0 defeat to a rampant Raith Rovers, says their vice-captain, who has skippered the side recently in the absence of Kyle Benedictus.

“We need to be better than that, we know that,” said Hamilton. “Raith are a good team, there’s a lot of good teams in this league.

“We’ve gone out the cup, the focus now goes back on the league. We need to make sure that we are at it come Tuesday, it is a massive game.

“First and foremost, it will hurt the boys. I know they are hurting, it means a lot to them.

“We were confident going into the game, we had a good week.

“We need to pick ourselves up and you have a bad performance and a bad result like that you want a game as quick as you can to get over it.

“We need to make sure that we dust ourselves down and we go again.”

‘Not what is expected’ of Dunfermline

James McPake didn’t sugar-coat Friday’s performance either. The Dunfermline manager said his side got exactly what they deserved.

A response will be expected on Tuesday night and Hamilton acknowledged that Dunfermline fell well below the levels they have reached under the current boss.

“It was not what we set out to do, not what we expect of ourselves so a bad night all night and just not quite good enough,” said Hamilton.

“Raith are a good team, we know they are a good team.

“If you are not at it 100%, then they have the players to hurt you.

“That’s what they did, they were clinical with the chances that they got and we maybe weren’t quite at it for one reason or another.

“We know that’s not good enough, there are no excuses.

“We are a good team, we know we are a good team and we need to go out on the pitch and prove that – go out with a point to prove in every game.

“We let ourselves down. We let them get into the game and gave them goals that we shouldn’t be giving away.”