Jamie McKim believes a second defeat on the spin must serve as a “wake-up call” for Johnstone Burgh as their promotion hopes hang by a thread.
Following on from a disappointing 1-0 away loss to Rutherglen, the Keanie Park club knew a win on the road against lowly Cumbernauld United was crucial to keep their push for a top three spot in the First Division table alive.
After a hard-fought but goalless first 45 minutes, Burgh took the lead early in the second half through Kieran Brophy.
But two goals in the space of three minutes from the home side turned the game on its head, with Cumbernauld holding on to bag all three points and boost their own survival hopes.
Gutted McKim is looking for a reaction from his players as they bid to ensure their first season in the second tier of the WoSFL doesn’t go out with a whimper, with the club currently sitting in sixth.
He told Express Sport: “It was a tough defeat to take. I know you can’t win every game, but I expected a better performance after the Rutherglen game.
“That’s two defeats on the bounce now and that needs to serve as a wake-up call in terms of where we want to be.
“We came into this division and wanted to compete for a top three spot. That’s where we want to be, that’s our next step as a club.
“After these two defeats it’s now going to be very difficult to make that happen this season. We’ve got to get our focus back because I don’t want this season to fizzle out and not mean anything.
“We’re playing for a cause and we should always be playing for our pride.
“I know we’re capable of so much more and hopefully we can show that again on the pitch.”
Burgh face a tough challenge to stop the rot this weekend, with title hopefuls Drumchapel United visiting Keanie Park on Saturday afternoon.
While McKim anticipates a difficult match, the gaffer believes the hurt he’s witnessed in the dressing room over the last two defeats shows his players do care just as much as the management team.
McKim said: “It’s a very tough league. We’ve got a lot of younger players and naturally they’re a bit more inconsistent. It’s a shame because other results have gone our way recently and we’ve not been able to capitalise on it. That’s frustrating, but we need to learn from it.
“Drumchapel have got a very talented team and they’ve still got a great chance of winning the league.
“If we play the way we have the last couple of weeks then we’ve got no chance of picking up a result against them. What gives me hope is that I’ve seen the players are hurting after these losses. I’d be worried if the dressing room didn’t feel the same frustration that me and the other coaches are.
“That’s important because you need that to move forward and progress. We’ve had a good reaction in training to defeats but now we need to take that into the games again.”
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