Peterhead assistant manager Davie Nicholls believes the Blue Toon can turn a corner once new signings have settled in and when key players have returned.
Nicholls was speaking after Peterhead were beaten 2-0 by Queen of the South in League 1 at Palmerston Park on Saturday.
The Blue Toon went behind in the 21st minute in as Euan East headed home from a corner, before Josh Todd added a second for the full-time outfit in the 65th minute.
The defeat in Dumfries leaves Peterhead sitting bottom of the third-tier, two points off Clyde in ninth and eight points off Kelty Hearts in eighth.
Nicholls believes that, despite their run of form, things will improve as Peterhead need time for new players to settle in, as well as awaiting the return of key players.
The Peterhead assistant manager said: “We’re still missing a few players, who are going to make a massive difference to the team.
“We had some players who had just come into the team the week before, like Julien Carre, who played really well and didn’t look out of place at all.
“It was a new position for him in midfield in the first-half, but in the second half I thought he was really solid at centre-half and that bodes well for the future.
“Hopefully there’s a light at the end of the tunnel now with Andy McCarthy coming back and Russell McLean is due to come back as well.
“We lost Andy McDonald in last week’s game so, hopefully, he will be back soon, too.
“The guys are getting there now, who’ve been unfit, and those who have just come in. We’re getting them up to speed as well.
“It’s a minor gap to Kelty and the gap with Clyde is just one win. These are teams who have invested in the summer and their squad is almost set in stone.
“Our squad is a bit more fluid right now, and we’re trying to get the more experienced players back in the team.
“Andy (McCarthy) will give the boys – and the coaching staff – a massive lift because he’s a very talented boy. That’ll complement the boys who are in the squad just now.”
The Blue Toon disappointed after conceding easy goals
The Blue Toon assistant was left frustrated by the manner of how his side conceded the first goal which left them chasing the game.
He believes that up until that point Peterhead proved to be a decent match for Queens, but repeated mistakes proved costly in the end.
Nicholls said: “When we played Queen of the South up at Peterhead, we were combative for about 20 minutes but they outplayed us a bit – you could tell they were full-time.
“But on Saturday, I didn’t think that there was a massive difference. It was just our final ball and we said to the boys at half-time, about retaining the ball.
“The one thing we were really disappointed in was our ball retention because if we had kept it better we could have created a few more chances.
“We conceded from another set-play, which is four games in a row now.
“We give the guys responsibility to pick up boys, but we lost a goal through a set-play – that just can’t be happening.
“Considering the position we’re in, we need to not be giving goals away like that, and yesterday it gave them a lift because at that point we were creating some good stuff.”
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