Peterhead captain Scott Brown is desperate to help the Blue Toon end their poor run of form.
Last Saturday’s 3-2 defeat against Queen’s Park was the Balmoor side’s sixth defeat in their last seven matches.
Blue Toon assistant Davie Nicholls described the first half display against the Spiders as “embarrassing” and among the worst he had seen during his time at the club.
Brown said: “It was disappointing but the whole season has been pretty disappointing if we are being honest.
“The only positive we can take so far is that we’ve only played eight games so we’ve got time to turn it around.
“We haven’t been good enough so far and you could spend all day going through why that might have been the case.
“On Saturday we were given instructions but the players on the park failed to carry out those instructions.
“It must be frustrating for the manager, Davie (Nicholls) and Simon (Ferry). They are trying really hard but we are letting ourselves down.
“I wouldn’t say there is a certain thing we are doing wrong. We are doing well in small spells of the game but we should be doing that for the full 90 minutes.”
Jim McInally’s side sit second bottom of League One with six points from eight games ahead of the visit of in-form Dumbarton this weekend.
Brown, who spent time on loan at the Sons when he was a St Johnstone player, feels they have enough quality in the squad to work their way up the table.
The 26-year-old said: “The thing about this league is we know if we aren’t on our game we won’t win matches.
“No team is going to play badly and win games in this league with how good the standard is.
“The standard seems to have crept up even higher than last year but we just need to focus on ourselves and look to pick up points.
“Performances need to improve, starting this Saturday.
“But actions speak louder than words.
“There is no point me saying we are going to do this and that.
“We need to start doing our talking on the pitch by picking up points.
“Dumbarton have started the season brilliantly so we know this will be a difficult game.
“They will be coming up to Balmoor full of confidence and looking to pick up the three points.”
The Blue Toon have bolstered the squad by signing Aberdeen winger Ryan Duncan on loan until January – and Brown is hopeful the 17-year-old can make an impact.
He said: “He trained with us the other night.
“It is good for these young players to get out on loan as he will learn more from playing with us than he will in the under-20 league.”
Kesson departs on loan
Meanwhile, Peterhead striker Derryn Kesson has returned to his former club Broughty Athletic on loan until January.
The 23-year-old joined the Blue Toon from the Tayside team last summer and has featured in more than 20 games.
His last appearance for the club was the SPFL Trust Trophy tie with East Fife in early September with his availability curtailed due to injury and Blue Toon boss Jim McInally believes the chance go out and play regular football can benefit all parties.
McInally said: “Derryn is a player with potential and the best way to realise that potential is by playing.
“He has dropped out of things here after picking up an injury on an artificial pitch that became infected.
“Moving out to Broughty just now gives Derryn the chance to become match fit and ready to play a part for us in the second half of the season.”