Jim McIntyre wants his shot-shy Cove Rangers side to take the initiative in the pursuit of goals.
McIntyre feels Cove are not being selfish enough in front of goal and need to take responsibility on themselves to be the match-winner.
They take on Arbroath this weekend at the Balmoral Stadium, as the Championship’s two part-time teams look to put some distance between one another.
Cove have only led once this season – the 2-0 win over Raith Rovers on the opening day – and finding their shooting boots soon would make their lives easier.
“We need to start creating more and punishing teams at key times,” said McIntyre. “Otherwise that’s going to put your defence under pressure.
“I’ve been saying for a number of weeks we need to be better in both boxes. Possession-wise, corners, we’re up there with other teams.
“One thing we could be doing more shots on goal. We’re a bit shot-shy, particularly in the middle of the park.
“From the wide players cutting inside and midfielders getting shots away, we need guys to be a bit more selfish.
“It’s about not trying to be too precise with everything. If it means having a pot-shot, pull the trigger and don’t be safe. Take the responsibility to make it happen earlier in the game.
“The stats are there – if you get the first goal you’ve got a better chance of winning the game.
“We’ve shown a resilience to come back and get a couple of draws, but we’re all fully aware we need to do more to pick up points.”
Arbroath, who had a meteoric rise through the leagues and made the Premiership play-offs last season, have found the going a lot tougher this time around.
Arbroath and Cove are level on five points at the bottom of the division and, like the Aberdeen side, today’s visitors only have one win to their name.
“They were brilliant last season, but have found it tougher this year,” said McIntyre. “The carrot is there for both teams to go three points in front of each other and it would probably claw one or two other sides into it.
“We’re the home side and we’ve got to make that advantage count.”
Fraser Fyvie (hamstring) will miss out for Cove and Scott Ross (knee) is rated as 50-50.