CRAIG WIGHTON has called on his team-mates to step up and take responsibility for Dunfermline’s poor start to the season and to make sure they turn it around.

The 24-year-old forward, who has struck three times so far this term, insists that confidence within the camp remains high but he and his Pars pals must walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

Going into Saturday’s East End meeting with Kilmarnock, Athletic are bottom of the Championship and winless after eight games, 10 points adrift of fourth place, and five more behind leaders Inverness.

Wighton, who is yet to get off the mark in the league, told Press Sport this week that the players needed to deal with the criticism that has been coming their way, and come through the other side of it.

“We know we have good players at the club but you know winning games is what brings the real confidence,” he said.

“It’s a case of getting that first one and hopefully building on that.

“As a group, we know we’re capable of winning games, we just need to show that and actually do it, rather than just speaking about it.

“The confidence is still there and we all know that it’s still early in the season. There’s a lot of points to play for but, at the same time, we need to start winning games as soon as possible.

“I think every club I’ve been at there’s been a period similar to this. It’s only eight games into the season, it’s a long season, so there’s plenty of points to play for. The gap’s not massive.

“I think the performances have been the most disappointing thing in certain games. I think there’s been games where we’ve shown glimpses but it’s not enough. We need to do it over a 90-minute period in a game and get points on the board.

“We can talk all we want but we really need to start doing that on a Saturday.

“A lot of the group will have been through this before or will have had pressure on them since they broke into the first team or whatever it is. It’s part of the game; you need to deal with that. When things are going well and you’re getting all the praise, it’s good, but you need to deal with this side as well.

“We haven’t been good enough so we need to accept the criticism and it’s up to us to turn everyone’s opinion around.”