Stevie Farrell has admitted that his Sons are now in a three-way fight to avoid the drop.
Defeat to Falkirk last Saturday – Dumbarton’s fifth in a row – leaves the Sons two points adrift of Peterhead and three clear of basement boys East Fife, as the battle for eighth place looks set to go down to the wire.
And Farrell said that victories for Alloa and Clyde over the weekend ensures they will both be playing League One football next season, but stressed that survival was still in his side’s own hands.
The Sons face Montrose today (March 26), before vital games away to Alloa Athletic (April 2) and at home to Peterhead (April 9).
And Farrell believes that the battle for eighth position is now between three sides.
He said: “One positive from last Saturday is that we know it’s a three-horse race now. East Fife have been beaten. Peterhead have been beaten.
“We’re in a dog fight. We have to get our sleeves rolled up and keep working hard over the remaining games. It's still in our own hands.”
Meanwhile Farrell was left to curse more defensive slips - with defender Stephen Bronsky and goalkeeper Kieran Wright making errors that led to Falkirk goals.
He added: “We’ve conceded 31 goals this season directly from individual mistakes. We’re going through a season where I’ve never known as many individual errors. It’s continually hurting us.
“We’re giving ourselves a mountain to climb every single week.”
Ahead of the visit of Montrose the Sons are set to welcome back three key players - and one long term injury absentee.
Influential striker Joshua Oyinsan is in-line for a return after missing almost two months through injury, whilst Paul Paton is back after Covid isolation.
Skipper Stuart Carswell returns from suspension, whilst Norwegian attacker Kristoffer Syvertsen is also set to return to the squad for the first time since August after an injury plagued campaign.
Kick off at the Rock is 3pm - with a reduced entry price of £10 per person and season ticket holders able to bring a friend for free. Admission for U16s is also free.
