Paddy Boyle warns that Gartcairn are in a relegation battle and everybody at the club needs to wake up to that reality.
But Boyle has no doubt they have the quality to get back up the West of Scotland Premier Division.
Airdrie club Gartcairn were in a lofty position before a row over an ‘ineligible’ player saw them deducted 15 points and fined £500, which dumped them in second-bottom spot.
A 1-0 defeat at home to Glenafton on December 7 and a 2-0 triumph at Drumchapel United seven days later has them a point above Shotts, who they host on January 11.
Assistant boss Boyle has no doubt there is a lot of work to do, but is confident they have it within them.
He said: “We are now in a relegation battle. People, all of us, it’s time to wake up and accept the situation, and deal with it.
“We had a few words about that after the Glenafton game. We know we have high quality players in there, for the level we’re at, they’ve responded really well, and it has given us a platform now.
“We’ve had a set-back with the points deduction – a lot has been said, a lot has been done, but for us now, and certainly for me and Mick [Dunlop, boss], we’re just focused on moving forward, now.
“I think that’s what we have to do. It has been put to bed, certainly by management and the players.
“We played Glenafton not long after that, for 45 minutes we were really good, and in the second half we were really poor, lost the game, and because the players have gone from sitting third or fourth in the league to second-bottom, you worry.
“But we had a good week’s training, went to Drumchapel, which is a really difficult place to go, they’ve been flying this year, and to be fair we were under the cosh a little bit.
“But I think the quality we’ve got shone through in the end, and that’s the key for us. We’re very aware that the squad is very capable of doing what we now need to do.
“I think we needed to win that game, given the points deduction. We had to say to the players that there has been disappointment, and after the Glenafton game it was important to be blunt and honest about it.”
Boyle knows how big the upcoming clash against Shotts is, for both sides, and says they will be well prepared for it.
He said: “It’s disappointing now not to have a game for a few weeks, in terms of trying to build momentum, and we know the next one is a biggie.
“The reality is they’re all biggies, because we have little margin for error.”