Peterhead boss David Robertson declared himself “more calm” after spending five years with Real Kashmir in India.
But the former Aberdeen and Rangers full-back must be struggling to retain that zen-like state following a challenging start to his time in the Balmoor hotseat.
Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at top of the table Dunfermline means Robertson’s first five games in charge have yielded no goals and just one point as Peterhead continue to languish at the bottom of League One.
That’s now seven and a half hours of football without the net bulging, although the club’s dry spell dates back even further than that to Jason Brown’s headed goal at Airdrie on November 12.
The malaise that gripped the team in the final months of previous manager Jim McInally’s 11-year reign shows no sign of easing, and you need to go back 16 games to mid-September for the last time they won a match at home to Kelty Hearts.
Robertson has done everything in his power to turn things around, signing six players so far with possibly another two in the pipeline before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.
Five of the six fresh faces started Saturday’s game, while French striker Boris Melingui came on as a second-half substitute, but the new-look line-up failed to get a shot on target to test Pars keeper Deniz Mehmet.
First-half strikes from Craig Wighton and Matthew Todd put Dunfermline in command, and although Peterhead recovered from an identical deficit to grab a 2-2 draw on their previous visit in October, there was to be no repeat of Michael Hewitt’s stoppage-time equaliser on Saturday.
Josh Edwards and sub Kevin O’Hara added further goals for the home side in the last 14 minutes.
Eighteen-year-old defender Layton Bisland, loaned from Dundee United on Friday, made his Peterhead debut on the right side of midfield and lasted the full 90 minutes.
“I’ve had a lot of backing from the club for new signings, but we’ll need to wait and see how the new players settle in to the team,” said Robertson.
“Our performances have been improving, but let’s see how the next couple of weeks go.
“We drew 2-2 at East End Park earlier in the season, so we knew it was possible to get a result there. I thought we played pretty well in patches, but we’re still conceding too many easy goals.”
The good news on Saturday was that nearest rivals Clyde also lost 4-0 at Falkirk, keeping Peterhead two points behind at the foot of the table.
With neither club involved in the Scottish Cup this weekend, the Blue Toon can overtake Clyde if they beat them at Balmoor on Saturday in what is the very definition of a “six-pointer”.
Peterhead confirmed prior to the game that striker Russell McLean has departed Balmoor, joining Dumbarton on a permanent deal until the end of the season.
The 24-year-old had scored 29 goals in 104 appearances over two spells for the Blue Toon.
