AARON COMRIE admits he’s unsure why Athletic haven’t taken their training ground work onto the pitch but insists they “can’t have any passengers” in trying to avoid the drop.

The full back admitted that there were “a few home truths and harsh words” uttered in the dressing room following Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing at Morton, a result which saw the Cappielow side leapfrog the Pars and move off the bottom of the table.

Both previous manager, Peter Grant, and his successor, John Hughes, have spoken about the good work the squad are producing during the week but they have struggled to replicate that on matchday.

Comrie, a consistent member of the Dunfermline line-up, was asked what goes wrong and replied: “I’m not sure.

“I think on paper it’s easy to say do this during the week, and then translate that on to a Saturday. It does take time – and I know we’re running out of that time – but it’s hard to say why that’s not transitioning over.

“It’s not through a lack of effort from the boys or anything like that.

“Obviously, there were a few home truths and harsh words but, ultimately, we just got together as a team and said to ourselves it’s not good enough. I think we all know that individually and collectively.

“It’s just about staying together, starting the week fresh, and trying to win the game against Hamilton.”

When asked what he thought went wrong, Comrie continued: “I think just the manner in which we lose goals. I think it’s been a common theme the full season; we’re just not giving ourselves an opportunity in the game.

“As I said at the start, there were a few home truths after the game on Saturday. Going into this Saturday, we can’t have any passengers, and we definitely need to be better collectively.”

Comrie also suggested that the post-mortem into events in Greenock had brought a bit of a different mood in training, as he added: “The manager sets high demands on training anyway, so to say it was any different ... maybe a little bit less laughing and joking. It’s all down to business.

“I think every game at this stage for us is massive, the one on Saturday probably even more so. Of course, it’s disappointing, but it’s done now. We need to start playing better collectively and maybe individually as well.

“The league table doesn’t lie. We’re all fully aware of where we’re sitting and we need to look up the way, change results quickly and start picking up points.”