Ross County captain Paul Quinn knows his side must be more ruthless to avoid being dragged into a Premiership relegation struggle.
The Staggies were beaten 3-2 by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday having led 2-1 with 30 minutes remaining.
A Gary Dicker equaliser and a last-minute winner from Sean Longstaff gave the Ayrshire side a first win in eight games, leaving County in seventh position and six points above bottom of the league Caley Thistle.
Quinn felt his side, who host Motherwell tomorrow evening, paid the price for not converting chances when in the ascendancy.
He said: “From early on we were trying to play football and build from the back. That leaves spaces and the counter attack was on.
“Our biggest asset is our attacking play and we need to try to put games to bed and then we can enjoy playing. We know that and our inconsistency over the season is why we have not pulled away from the teams below us.
“But we can’t have too many complaints about this game. Losing a last minute goal was harsh, but we did not do enough to win the game. We would have been the happier team going up the tunnel with a point, given how we played for an hour of the game.”
Kris Boyd netted after only 10 seconds – the quickest goal in Scottish Premiership history – to give Killie the lead but County’s reply was immediate with goals from Christopher Routis and Alex Schalk putting the visitors in front after 11 minutes.
Having managed to get into a winning position, County contrived to throw the match away, much to the frustration of captain Quinn.
He added: “We are hugely disappointed by how we let it slip through our fingers. We were in firm control of the game and at one stage we could have dominated and got a third or fourth goal like we did against Dundee United in last week’s 6-2 Scottish Cup win.
“After such a bad start we had got back level and were in control. But we were sloppy and loose in possession.
“I have to give Kilmarnock credit. They weathered the storm and put us under pressure in the second half and they deserved to make it 2-2. It was a disappointing end to the game. We can’t have any complaints about how the game panned out.”
County manager Jim McIntyre, meanwhile, does not expect his side to make any new signings before tomorrow’s deadline.
He said: “I expect one or two to move on, but I’m not expecting anyone else to arrive.”