KRIS DOOLAN admits that the pressure is mounting on Partick Thistle as the inquest begins over their desperately disappointing weekend defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle.
The striker says that it is time for some frank discussions and some home truths to be laid out within the walls of the Firhill dressing room as they try to turn around a horror run of form that has seen them slip to second bottom of the Premiership, just three points ahead of Ross County.
But Doolan believes it is equally important for the Jags not to press the panic button, and get back to doing the things that had them looking forward to competing in the top six just a little over a year ago.
“It was a big disappointment on Saturday, and it was a game we felt we could have got some points from,” Doolan said.
“To lose so cheaply makes it even tougher. Hearts didn’t have to work too hard to get their goals and to get three points.
“We need to look at what is going wrong. We can’t gloss over it, we have to rectify things and it makes the games coming up even bigger now.
“It has been so tough, and we have made things tougher for ourselves. Week after week, it seems to be that we are heaping more pressure on ourselves.
“This time last year we were playing good football. We were passing the ball, we were moving it, scoring goals and creating chances, because people were felling happy, comfortable and relaxed.
“With the pressure now mounting a little, we can’t allow that to affect us. We have to be able to think clearly. It’s too easy to get carried away and press the panic button, we have to keep our heads. You have to be able to think clearly when you are on the pitch.
“We still have to be able to take the ball and pass it, we can’t just resort to lumping it away because ultimately it’s just coming straight back at us.
“It’s the Premiership, teams will punish you. If they have more of the ball, they are going to punish us.
“It’s been happening the majority of the season, and we’re at the stage of the season where it just can’t keep happening. We need to put a stop to it.
“I’m sure the manager will be working as hard as he can to rectify that.”
Doolan is looking to make the most of the two-week hiatus that Thistle now have before they travel to face Hibs, and he is determined to do more than simply stew on their abject display at Tynecastle.
“It’s not ideal that we’ve got two weeks in between, because sometimes it’s better to just get back out there and have another game,” he said.
“On the flip side of that, it now gives us a couple of weeks to work on things and get things out in the open and have a chat about it.
“It is getting to that stage where we do have to have a bit more about us to not allow ourselves to fall out of games straight away.
“We have to be a lot cleverer in how we approach games and the way we manage games as well.
“We have a good team spirit and that definitely won’t change, because we’ve got boys in there who will make sure we stick together. We are a club, we win together, and we lose together, that’s the way it is.
“I don’t think it was a case of pointing fingers at individuals, but as a team, as players, we have to stand up.
“From back to front there were mistakes made all over the place, so it’s not about pointing fingers at each other, but we can’t just gloss over things either.
“We do have to sit down as a team and rectify things as a team, that’s the way to approach it. We can’t single people out, we must do more as a team.”
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