Frustrated Colin Spence felt some of his players were guilty of ‘going through the motions’ as Irvine Meadow were brought back down to earth with a bump by Largs Thistle on Saturday.
Now he's hoping they can rediscover their mojo against Beith tonight and keep alive their hopes of a top-five finish in the West of Scotland League Premier Division.
A first-half Connor McGoldrick header was enough to give relegation-battling Largs a richly deserved home win over Meadow at Barrfields Park.
Stuart Davidson's men could even afford the luxury of a Will Sewell penalty miss.
Medda co-boss Spence was honest enough to admit his side didn’t deserve anything from the game.
And he knows they will have to be much better at Bellsdale this evening as they face a managerless Beith side buzzing on the back of a 7-2 win against Bonnyton at the weekend.
“I thought we were lucky it was only 1-0 to tell you the truth,” Spence said of the Largs defeat.
“We huffed and puffed and we kept going but the best team won.
“I said to the boys before the game, we’ve just beat Pollok and Kilwinning – don’t be that team who then takes the foot off the gas because you’re coming to a side that’s lower than you in the division.
“I’m not saying we did that but it felt like that. It felt like some of us were going through the motions a wee bit.
”Beith will go into this game flying but we need to go again and match them.
"80 per cent at this level is just matching teams and being physical and winning second balls. That wee 20 per cent is the bit that wins you the games. Once you've done the hard work you wear teams down.
“We just don’t want the season to fizzle out now. The top five or six should be the aim."
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
