Raith Rovers boss John McGlynn insists his players are not far away from ending what he believes may be the worst slump since their return to the First Division three seasons ago.
The Kirkcaldy side have lost their last three matches without scoring a single goal and have triumphed only once in their last 11 league outings.
However McGlynn is confident that hard work and a little help from Lady Luck will turn things around, starting on Saturday against an Ayr outfit who have proved tricky opponents so far this season.
He said: ”Unfortunately, Ayr have beaten us twice already. Admittedly, the last time we played for over an hour with just 10 men.
”We lost to a very late goal, which was disappointing considering the amount of work and effort we had put in.
”We played very well on the day, which has been the story all along. We probably deserved to take something from that game but didn’t.
”So they will present a challenge which we will need to rise to.”
The manager added: ”I am not 100% sure as I have not looked closely at the stats but I would think this is the toughest time we have experienced since we came back into the First Division.
”One thing that is certain though is I would much rather not be where we are in the league at the moment.”
He added: ”We made a lot of cutbacks in the summer and, if you are being realistic, you have to think you will not do as well as last season.
”However, we are determined to do the best we can and we are not far away at the moment.”
Iain Davidson, Scott McBride and Ross Laidlaw will miss the Ayr game through injury.