Marvin Bartley insists everyone is playing for their future at Queen of the South.
The gaffer spoke out after his side crashed 2-0 at home to league leaders Dunfermline.
He revealed a lot of contracts are up at the end of the season.
And he told how playing for his place as a player helped motivate him and kept him focussed.
Bartley said: “Everyone is playing for their future – that’s the nature of football.
“Every game I played, whether my contract had three years left or a month to run I was always playing for my future.
“Because guess what? If I don’t perform then the manager is going to bring in someone else who can.”
He added: “That’s the mentality of football. It isn’t a threat, it’s just the way it is. You have to deal with that pressure because we’ve very privileged to do what we do. It was a help because it kept me focussed.”
Bartley also wants Queens to try and emulate Pars.
He said adding goals to the squad will help and that “will definitely be addressed in the summer”.
Bartley said: “We always aspire to be like the team on top of the league.
“Dunfermline have a lot of know-how, but to get that know-how they need a big, big backer so we need to find a different way. We outperformed them. We were the better team even though we lost.
“They are well organised. Defenders were making blocks and celebrating them like a goal. Come next season that’s what we’re aiming for and I won’t shy away from that.
“People might say that’s a bit of pressure but we should be at the top end of this league, it’s that simple. Languishing in eighth place isn’t acceptable.”
Jaze Kabia will be reassessed next week after he was forced off with a groin injury at the weekend. Paul McKay (above left) waits a return date from a quad pull.
