MORTON boss Dougie Imrie has fired a defensive warning shot to his players if they're to keep themselves within the race for the promotion play-offs.
The Cappielow side's charge for fourth place has hit a bump in the road over the last week after suffering defeats to Falkirk and Livingston.
However they still hold a game in hand over Partick in fourth place, six points above them, with one tie left between the two.
But Imrie has been left reeling after watching his side concede disturbingly similar goals in both games against the Bairns and the Lions as their 11-game unbeaten run come to a crashing halt.
Morton left it too late against Livi (Image: Gary Bradley)
And he called for his side to show more composure in the key moments if they want to fulfil their play-off ambitions.
Looking ahead to Morton's trip to Fife to face Dunfermline tomorrow, Imrie said: "We really need to start showing more composure in those key moments of games, especially just after we score.
"When you score, you're vulnerable, because you're full of emotion. You're elated that you've scored.
"That's when you need to be saying 'right, calm heads, let's get through the next five or ten minutes - don't change what we're doing, but just defend well'.
"But you can't allow that [a repeat of Livingston's equaliser on Tuesday] to happen.
"It was a carbon copy of Falkirk's second on Friday.
"Either I'd be better starting not to do analysis, or people need to take what I'm telling them on board, because it's criminal.
"If you want to defend like that, you're going to to cause yourself problems and, like I say, it's frustrating, because we highlighted, and not just Monday, that's been the case all season, about allowing players in the pitch.
"That's when you need someone to take a yellow card, take a foul, wipe them out, stop the game, the goal doesn't happen, then you can get yourself sorted.
"From there you can deal with the cross into the box, but it's down to game management and game knowledge.
"It's frustrating from my point of view, the staff's point of view, because we've highlighted it a million times this season, and the same type of goals keep happening.
"If we want to get into the top four, then we need to stop giving away cheap goals."
Imrie was adamant that his side should've had a penalty (Image: Gary Bradley) Looking back on the 3-2 defeat in West Lothian, Imrie was adamant that his side should've had a penalty after skipper Grant Gillespie was sent tumbling under the challenge of Reece McAlear late on in the second half.
And he was once again left to ponder the consistency of officials at Championship level after seeing another big call go against his side in the big moments.
He told the Tele: "It's a stonewaller. It's come from the same referee that gave Falkirk a penalty in the 3-2 defeat at the start of the season. That was never a penalty. It's embarrassing.
"But it is what it is. There's no consistency.
"Grant Gillespie has done well. He's put his body across, the boy's took him out, it's a stonewaller.
"If it's not a penalty, it's not a corner, because the player doesn't touch the ball.
"The decisions are baffling at times, but we need to move on and bounce back this weekend."
