AYR United boss Scott Brown admits his side have "got an eye on the bottom" after falling to defeat at home to Greenock Morton.
The Honest Men lost 1-0 on Saturday, with an Aaron Comrie header in just the third minute enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
It was a goal which frustrated the Somerset Park head coach, particularly as it came so early in the Scottish Championship fixture.
“It was a very poor start to the game," Brown told Ayr United TV. "We have worked on, this week, defending crosses.
“You are not even two minutes into a game and they get a free header six yards out. That’s the most disappointing thing.
“We have been really poor – crosses haven’t been great, movement in the box hasn’t been great. I take responsibility for that.
“I picked the team today, the subs came on today and they didn’t really help us if I’m honest.”
The manager feels that his players need a shift in mentality to help overcome their current issues.
United are now without a win in their last six Scottish Championship matches.
Brown added: “They are good players, you’ve got to have a personality on the pitch. You can be who you want. You’ve got to enjoy football.
“It looks like, because the crowd is getting after us a little bit at this point in time, we’re a wee bit scared to make that killer pass.
“That side of the game is important. Mentality and focus now is going to be a huge thing.
“They are great lads, a really good team who play some really good stuff, they’ve just got to be nastier.”
The result leaves the Somerset Park outfit in fifth place, five points back of Dunfermline Athletic in the final play-off position.
Meanwhile, bottom side Airdrieonians, and Ross County in the relegation play-off place, are just eight and seven points back respectively.
Brown continued: “We are sitting fifth still, we probably don’t deserve to be sitting fifth at this moment in time.
“We’re still in with a shout but you’ve got an eye on the bottom as well. There is a huge opportunity for us to turn the season around.
“You go and get three points and you open up a big point difference between us and bottom of the league. We put that bit of pressure on Dunfermline and stuff like that as well.”
Next up for Ayr United is an away league match against Raith Rovers on Friday, March 27, which kicks off at 7.45pm.
The match will be broadcast live on the BBC Scotland channel.
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