THE assistant manager of Dunfermline Athletic Ladies has said that "bumps in the road" will be a "learning experience" for the squad.

But Gregg McSwiggan believes that it is important they look at the bigger picture and the positive results they have achieved in a short space of time as their season moves towards its conclusion.

The Pars travelled to SWFL (Scottish Women's Football League) East leaders Armadale Thistle on Sunday, falling to a 2-0 loss against a side who have won 13, and drawn one, of their 14 matches played so far.

That came after they had ended a run of three successive defeats, including an extra-time loss to Linlithgow Rose in the SWFL Plate quarter-finals, with a convincing 4-1 victory over McDermid Ladies in their previous outing.

McSwiggan, who joined head coach, Charles Dignan, in leaving Alloa Athletic to join Dunfermline in December, felt the McDermid win showed "another bit of character that we've seen in the ladies" ahead of a tough assignment at Armadale.

Before two league defeats, to Glenrothes Strollers and Edinburgh South, either side of the Linlithgow loss, Athletic had won seven successive matches, and McSwiggan said: "It would be easy for us as a coaching staff to go ranting and raving, and put a real negative spin on things, but we need to remember the run we were on before that, the unbeaten run, the amount of goals we scored, and I think we only conceded two or three in the run of games that we won.

"We need to balance that with how well we've done. We're not naïve enough to think there's never going to be bumps in the road, of course there is, and that's a learning experience. It's a learning experience for the ladies and for us, and how to take that on board and get better through the journey we're on."

On the Armadale match itself, McSwiggan noted: "I thought the ladies were excellent in their effort and work rate.

"Out of possession they were regimented and worked so hard, which we were delighted with.

"We took confidence going in at the break at 0-0 and, on another day, could have been ahead had we been more clinical in front of goal.

"The second half was always going to be difficult up against the wind but, again, the girls can take so many positives from the match and their own individual performances.

"The fact that the Armadale keeper took player of the match speaks volumes. We look forward to facing them again on Sunday."

The Pars, who are fifth in SWFL East, are back in action on Sunday against Armadale again, this time on home turf, with kick off at 2pm.