Jack Sanders has urged Cove Rangers to go back to basics to fix their leaky defence.
Cove scored four goals away from home against Hamilton at the weekend – but it was not enough to take three points as they collapsed from 4-1 up.
They conceded three against Raith and had to come from behind twice against Ayr United to take a point, with Cove skipper Mitch Megginson criticising his team’s defending after the latest round of “cheap” goals.
Jim McIntyre’s side have proven they can score goals against most teams in the Championship, but, at present, keeping the back door shut is costing them key points.
“One hundred per cent (need to go back to basics) – when you go 2-0 up, you need to make sure for the next five minutes you stay compact and nothing gets through you,” said Sanders. “We’ve conceded some sloppy goals and it’s hugely disappointing.
“We’re 4-1 up in the game and cruising – it’s not good enough to not come out winners.
“It’s a team game and if there’s an individual error, we’re all as one.
“There’s moments in the game where we’ve scored goals and 30 seconds after, they’ve scored straight away.
“If we can be strong, sit tight for the next five minutes, then there’s a different outcome.
“Saturday felt like a massive defeat – if you’re 4-1 up in a football match you shouldn’t be coming away not winning.”
Sanders desperate to make most of upcoming home games
Cove return to action at the Balmoral Stadium on Friday against Queen’s Park, in what is due to be their first televised league fixture. The initial scheduling of the home game against Dundee was due to take that honour prior to its postponement.
“We’ve got a few home games coming up and we’ve got a really good team here,” added Sanders. “We know our away record isn’t as good as it should be, for the players we have.
“The last two weeks have been a benchmark, getting a good draw at Ayr and then we should have had three points on Saturday. We’d be looking at the table a bit differently.
“There were quite a few Cove fans who came on Saturday and it was really disappointing for them. We feel for them.
“But our home form is strong and hopefully we can pick up a few points.”