Clyde boss Jim Duffy felt his side lacked fighting spirit as a costly defeat to relegation rivals Peterhead sent them to the bottom of League One.
The Bully Wee sat two points clear of their opponents going into Saturday’s vital clash and a Kieran Shanks effort after 51 minutes was all that separated the sides at Balmoor, with a 1-0 win taking Blue Toon a point clear of Clyde in the bid to beat automatic relegation.
It is a two-way scrap at the bottom with nearest rivals Queen of the South a huge 15 points clear in eighth place and the defeat was a big blow to Duffy’s side.
And he said: “We are bitterly disappointed by the result. Conditions were horrendous for both sides, just very difficult to get the ball down and play.
“The game just became a bit of a battle and a bit scrappy, then the game really just came down to a set-piece - something which has haunted us a lot this season.
“It has come back to bite us again.
“We competed well in the game but neither team got any rhythm in the game. It was a game where we really had to roll our sleeves up, show fighting qualities and, at worst, get a 0-0.
“But there’s too many occasions when we’ve been on the end of the wrong results in these kinds of games.
“It wasn’t a great spectacle to be involved in but it was about getting a result and we switched off at a key moment and got punished.
“We need to be stronger mentally in these situations.”
Clyde made three new signings in the build-up to the clash with strikers Kyle Doherty and Martin Rennie joined by midfielder Cameron Salkeld.
Doherty and Rennie both made their debuts against Peterhead and Duffy was pleased with their contributions overall.
He added: “Kyle had a fantastic pass through to Jordan Allan in the first half and, unfortunately, Jordan couldn’t just get his shape right to get a clear connection on it.
“I thought Kyle linked up the play really well.
“When Martin came on he passed the ball well and got us up the pitch a lot against a very strong wind.
“Once both players are fully fit and have adapted they will be valuable assets for us.”
This weekend Clyde have the daunting task of facing league leaders Dunfermline at New Douglas Park, but they will be buoyed by the fact they held the Pars to a 2-2 draw at East End Park last time out in November.
Kick-off on Saturday is 3pm.
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