Queens boss Marvin Bartley has ordered his misfiring side to start finding the net.
The shot-shy Doonhamers have racked up three league games on the trot without a goal and conceded seven in the process.
Bartley picked over the bones of the home defeat by table-topping Dunfermline at the weekend and said: “We need to get more goals in this team.
“We need more players scoring and providing assists.
“We created a few chances but we really need to be a lot more ruthless up front.
“We have relied on Ruari Paton too much this season and other people need to start chipping in with goals.”
Pars took another step towards the League One title with a goal in each half.
Craig Wighton’s first-half opener took a nick off Jack Brydon while Queens skipper Josh Todd hammered a header high into his own net just two minutes into the second period from a Joe Chalmers corner.
Bartley hit out at the South’s game plan being wrecked after working on stopping Dunfermline’s plan of attack.
He said: “You can tell the players and work on it tactically in training and analyse videos of them, but if you fail to execute it then it costs you. And it cost us a goal in the first half that we dominated.
“We know that’s their style, the runs that they make, and we have watched the video and tactically gone through it, so it’s extremely frustrating that we don’t execute what we planned.”
But Bartley refused to criticise his side for effort and added: “I cannot say anything about the players’ effort because they gave everything.
“But we have lost 2-0 and we won’t get into that habit. We have 11 games left with a lot of players playing for their futures.
“A lot of contracts are up in the summer and we are playing for our futures. However, more performances like that and we will win more games than we lose before the end of the season.
“Dunfermline put their heads in where the boots are flying and these are the things we need to do to get up this league.”
He revealed that two players have turned down the opportunity of loan moves to other clubs.
Bartley said: “Ciaran McKenna and Rico Quitongo were offered loans. Ciaran turned down his loan and Rico doesn’t think a loan benefits him, so they are contracted to the club and will be part of the group and available for selection.”
