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East Stirlingshire boss Pat Scullion says his side need to “show more conviction” in both boxes after losing out 3-1 to Albion Rovers on Saturday afternoon in the Scottish Lowland Football League.

The Falkirk club sit 15th in the table after eight outings, having only picked up four points after a difficult start to the campaign.

“The truth is that the game had a similar theme to most of our matches so far in that we gave away some really cheap goals,” Scullion said of the performance. “We got sucker-punched on the break for the third but each goal was avoidable.

“We can’t really have any complaints about the result in all honestly. We looked better as an attacking force and we have been working on that but at the back we need to show a bit more pride in defending our box.

East Stirlingshire striker Matty Flynn scores from the spot for the Falkirk side on Saturday against Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill – the Shire lost 3-1 on the day (Pictures by Phil Dawson)

“We are scoring goals now and we are playing some good football too but we are conceding from soft chances. We need to have a wee bit more conviction in both boxes, especially in our own one. We need that desire to come from within the group to want to stop the ball going into the back of the net.

“Of course, we will have some strange results over the course of the season as we have a young group but the goals we are losing are nothing to do with age. Teams aren’t having to work hard to score against us.

“And I don’t aim that at just the goalkeeper and the defence. It is the whole team that needs to contribute to the defensive side of things and there has to be a collective want for a clean sheet.”

The Shire’s goal came from a Matty Flynn penalty, with the veteran striker now boasting two strikes in two appearances since re-joining the club, and the boss reckons he will be key going forward.

Bright Prince is fouled by Shire goalkeeper Jordan Pettigre, leading to a spot kick for the home side (Photo: Phil Dawson)

"He is a really good character,” he said. “He is also good support for the coaching staff and he is a very objective set of eyes for us. His goal against Stirling University was a cracker.

"On the pitch, he hasn’t lost that quality. He isn’t the Matty Flynn of 10 years ago but he has so much to give. He is a goalscorer and his penalty was great against Albion Rovers. He is the type of guy we needed.

"We are still on the hunt for some new additions too with Dan Watt recently transferring out and Kyle Connelly leaving.”

We need more conviction in both boxes, urges Shire boss after Albion Rovers defeat