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With just seven games remaining in our debut cinch Championship season, and the side deep in a battle to avoid relegation, manager Paul Hartley is calling for a big reaction from his players during the run-in.

The most recent outing ended in a painful 6-1 hammering in Kirkcaldy at the hands of Raith Rovers, a display which led to a period of reflection for the gaffer at the start of the week:

“That one stuck with me for a few days, I was still bitterly disappointed by the manner of the performance. Sometimes you can take a defeat, but it’s the manner of it that kills you. It was totally unacceptable. The previous week against Queen’s Park we had worked so hard and come close to getting a huge result, but there was nothing there against Raith, it was a non-event for us.”

Having soaked that all up, Paul had to try to re-instil some positivity and confidence in the squad:

“My job this week has been to pick the team up because we can’t allow that to happen again. We’ve got seven games left in which the players have to give absolutely everything.

“You’re not going to play your way out of this situation, you have to fight your way out of it.

“As an individual and a team, you have to take responsibility for that performance. I do, I always accept it from my part, and in the dressing room it was a pretty honest talk. I kept them in there for twenty minutes and spelled out what I expect from them. The players had the chance to have their say too, I encourage free speech, but at the end of the day they know they let themselves down, their team-mates, the club, the supporters that travelled.

“The good thing is they have the chance to do something about it now, it’s a fresh week, and we have to make sure our standards are so much better than they were in Kirkcaldy.”

Paul believes there is no great mystery to turning things round, but says the players have to show the application which will be required if we are to start picking up points again:

“Commitment, attitude, willingness to work; they all have to be a hundred times better.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in the squad, good players who have played at a high level, but we just haven’t performed on a consistent enough basis all season.”

He admits, as the man in charge, it is a tough time for him right now, but says he has the back-up, and will be giving everything he can to help turn things around:

“You’ve got to have good people alongside you. You need a good Chairman, which I have, and good staff. That’s so important.

“Over the weekend I was questioning myself, of course I was. You go through it all, you question every decision; could I have done better, did I prepare the team properly? That’s one thing we can’t be accused of letting drop, our preparation is always spot-on, but as a manager you have to take the responsibility: the buck stops with you.

“There are a number of areas we need to improve upon. We need to work harder all over the pitch and we need to show greater resilience and a better attitude if we fall behind.

“We have to be positive. We’re in a position where we can still do something about the situation we’re in, we’re not isolated at the bottom of the league, and that was the approach we took to training this week. There’s no point me going around with my face tripping me, that doesn’t help anyone. It was all about lifting the players, the talking was done on Saturday, so midweek was all about preparing the guys physically and mentally.”

Ayr United have been flying for much of the season and are very much in contention for promotion, despite their midweek defeat at Dundee. The manager knows this will be a tough test for all at Cove:

“We have to get it right, there’s a fine balance in terms of how we approach it. We’re certainly going to have to be more solid at the back, and we’re going to have to be more of a threat in the final third.

“The players are going to have to play to their potential, they’re going to have to work hard and fight for their club. They want to stay in the division, we all do, now it’s up to them to get out on that pitch and prove it.

“It’s a hard game on Friday night, but football can turn quickly; we all know that. One result can change your fortunes, and that’s what we need.”

Scott Fox has recovered from injury and will be back in his usual place between the sticks at Somerset Park. Long-term absentees Fraser Fyvie and Brody Paterson will be missing, David Bangala is ineligible to play against his parent club and Scott Ross is ruled out through illness. Blair Yule will resume full training next week, so could be available for the Partick Thistle game next weekend.

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