Paul Hartley acknowledges Cove Rangers have a battle on their hands in the final quarter of the season.
Following their 2-0 defeat at home to Dundee on Saturday, just two points separate the bottom three in the Championship.
Goals from Lyall Cameron and Lee Ashcroft proved decisive as the Dark Blues beat Cove for the second time in a month.
“We played some good stuff but concede just before half-time, which is a body-blow for us,” said Hartley.
“We still felt we could get something out of the game and when having our best spell, we concede again. That’s the frustrating thing.
“We had some good play and balls into the box but we didn’t have someone attacking it. It’s not falling for us at this moment in time.
“It’s going to be a battle – they know that’s what is in front of them in the last quarter. We knew it was going to be like this so everyone needs to stand up and be counted.
“We’ve got three tough away games and we need to go and be brave. We need to try fight our way out of it.”
Hartley will also have to assess a worsening injury situation at the Balmoral.
Cove were already without Blair Yule, Fraser Fyvie and Brody Paterson for the Dundee game. The trio were joined in the stands on Saturday by Connor Scully and Mitch Megginson and Cove felt the absence of those key figures.
“Mitch felt his hamstring on Thursday night so we need to see how he is,” added Hartley. “We had five key players sitting in the stand today.
“But that’s football. We need to deal with the injury situation and get on as best we can.”
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