Defender Michael Doyle insists Hamilton Accies must show more courage if they are to survive in the Scottish Championship this season.
Accies fell six points behind Arbroath at the foot of the table, albeit with a game in hand, after Jamie Gullan's ninth-minute striker inflicted a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Raith Rovers yesterday.
It is now six defeats on the spin and that has cranked up the pressure on boss John Rankin, with his side having picked up just one point out of the last 24 available.
Doyle knows a second relegation in three seasons is on the cards for Accies if they don't stop the rot fast and he says it is down to the players to haul themselves and their manager out of the mire.
During a break in play, Doyle could be heard trying to rally the troops and encouraging his team-mates to "just shoot" instead of trying to find the perfect pass.
And asked about that moment, Doyle said: "As players we need to show more courage.
"The manager tells us that, and I know in football the manager seems to get the brunt of things, but we are men out there on the park.
"The manager does everything for us.
"He is absolutely brilliant, I must admit, and through my whole career, he is one of the best I have worked under.
"So it is the players on the park who need to start repaying him.
"You need to be courageous on the park. You need to take shots.
"Shots get goals. We don't need to score the perfect goal, we just need to put the ball in the back of the net.
"And we need to start realising how to do that sooner rather than later.
"When you are down there [at the bottom of the table] it seems hard to pick up results.
"We have worked hard all week. We are going into the new year knowing we need to start picking up results, but I thought although we were decent between two boxes against Raith, it's about what happens in both boxes and we need to increase our quality.
"We lost a goal where we should do better and we've had chances at the other end where the players, including myself, need to do better.
"That is what seems to be letting us down at the moment."
Accies mustered just two shots on target during the clash, one of which was when substitute Ryan One's flick forced Jamie MacDonald into a good stop in the 74th minute.
A big chance fell to Andy Winter in the final moments but he rushed his effort and fired narrowly wide.
And Doyle added: "When you are down where we are, you can overplay a bit.
"It's a lack of quality, a lack of confidence and a lack of luck as well.
"Luck is a mad thing in football. The ball can hit someone, rebound and it can be there sitting for somebody to tap it in.
"That is a big thing.
"We are getting the chances, we are just not taking them.
"I can't just blame the strikers. Some of the crosses I've got to do better with as well. At the other end, if you are going to go through a whole game without scoring, you need to make sure you don't concede at the other end.
"That is something we need to do as well.
"I thought big Fergus [Owens] for 99 per cent of the game did well. He just switches off for the one at the back post and it is those wee margins that we need to improve on."
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