Gutted Paisley Pirates coach Ian Turley believes his team need to learn lessons quickly after their league campaign went out with a whimper.
The Renfrewshire side travelled to face Dundee Tigers knowing only a win would give them a chance of lifting the SNL title this year.
After a topsy-turvy game, in which the Pirates led 2-0 at one stage, the Tigers sealed a 7-4 win that consigned the Paisley side to fourth spot in the table.
With a crunch Scottish Cup semi-final against eventual league winners Aberdeen Lynx and a massive play-off quarter-final reunion with the Tigers still to come, Turley insists his players have no time to waste as they look to end the season on a much stronger note.
Turley said: “It was a really poor end to the league campaign for us.
“We were two ahead and then a couple of really basic defensive errors allowed them to level things up.
“It was 4-4 at the end of the second period and we went all out for the win but ended up coming up short.
“We outshot them by almost double but our execution was just poor on the night.
“A win would have seen us finish up second in the table, so to instead finish up fourth was a very disappointing end to the season.
“We’re up against the Tigers again in the play-offs and also have Aberdeen Lynx in the Scottish Cup.
“These are two massive games for the club and they give us a chance to redeem ourselves.
“It’s a chance to show our true selves and allow us to aim to end the campaign on a more positive note.”
Pirates know they will have to raise their game to have a chance of lifting silverware over the next few weeks.
And Turley believes consistency and a little naivety have been the issues the club have battled with all season.
Turley said: “In the final league standings there really wasn’t much in it from first all the way down to fifth.
“That’s good for the league in general, but for us it’s been disappointing and ultimately we haven’t been mature enough in some key moments.
“Our decision-making has to be better and we need to learn very fast because we’re determined to make it to both finals coming up.
“Every game is a cup final for us now and we just need to show that consistency, because when we’re on it we can be very dominant and beat anyone.
“In our games with Aberdeen so far we’ve won two and they’ve won two.
“So, we know it can be done, we just need to put in our best performance and it can still be a successful season yet – despite the league disappointment.”
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