PARS boss John Potter has admitted that criticism of his side is justified but he will continue to fight to turn their fortunes around.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with bottom side Stirling Albion was greeted with a loud chorus of boos from an angry home support who saw their team slump to seventh in League One, six points adrift of the final promotion play-off place.

Both the manager and his players have come under fire from sections of the East End faithful after a poor run that has seen them pick up just one win out of their last six matches, and collect just 14 points in 13 games since Potter took over.

Time is running out for the Pars to pull themselves into promotion contention and Potter told Press Sport, “I’m a big boy and I can handle stick and at the moment it is probably justified. I’m the manager so will take that but we all have to do better.

“It’s not nice when you lose or the team you’ve picked is not performing but we have to keep going and concentrate on our jobs. We’re the only ones who can get ourselves out of this position.

“I’ll never throw the towel in and I know Neil (McCann) is the same. We can either think that the season’s over or we can stand up, be counted and fight. That’s what I will do and I know the players will do because things can change quickly in football. It will be difficult because we probably need to win all of our last seven games to give us a chance of doing something this season but we have to remain positive.” He continued, “I believe what I’m doing is right and the players believe in what we’re saying; I’m sure they have total faith in Neil and myself. We’re working hard in training and showing them where they think they’ve gone wrong, we’re picking teams we believe are good enough to win but as players you have to take responsibility out on the pitch as well.

“There is a lot of talk about systems but ultimately the players have to get the better of their opponent, pass the ball well and create chances. If the players can go out on the pitch and do their jobs right then they will win games but too many times we’re having too many people having off days and it needs to be more of guys having good, steady performances.” Ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Stenhousemuir, Potter will be without Ryan Wallace after he was forced off during last week’s under-20s match with Dundee United. Potter said it appeared to be a problem in his pelvic area but hoped to get to the bottom of the problem this week. Otherwise he is set to have a fully-fit squad to pick from.