Falkirk midfielder Aidan Nesbitt knows squad has the quality to improve

The Bairns 3-0 defeat at home to Airdrieonians at the weekend coupled with a fiery fans’ Q&A event on Tuesday night has put further spotlight on the players.

Paul Sheerin’s side now travel to Peterhead on Saturday, who have won their last two matches.

Nesbitt conceded it wasn’t good enough and admitted the players were left hurting after the loss.

“The changing room wasn’t a nice place to be in, I am a vocal person and I don’t mind saying what I wanted needed to be said. It was hostile.

I can’t explain in words how bad I felt, it takes its toll on you when you lose a match in the manner we did.

“We need to move on from it though, we can’t dwell on it.”

Now, Nesbitt believes the squad need to bounce back with a win and he’s backing his teammates to do just that.

“Arguably the best we have played in the league was the home match against Peterhead so we can take a lot of confidence from that. It was 2-1 but I felt that flattered them.

“They’ve been on a really good run, scoring goals for fun and one of our main problems has been conceding needless ones, so it is going to be a challenge.

“We need to defend properly and stay concentrated for the whole match and not just spells. If we do that I know we can produce at the other end of the park and score goals.”

Speaking about the pressure involved with being on a poor run, Nesbitt was quick to appreciate the supporters’ frustrations.

“I’m a football fan myself, I watch my team and get frustrated when they play badly. I understand the fans' anger at the moment.

Some boys deal with it better than others do, I don’t mind taking criticism because it is deserved.

“Starting on Saturday we need to show our fans we deserve to be at a big club like this, we need to perform to a level and stick to it. If we do that we will win matches.”

He added: “We need to play with confidence, I think one problem we have is the self-belief on the park.

“I don’t think we have enough of that at the moment, we should believe in ourselves more and lose the tension in our play.

We should be winning every game we play in, that’s not me being disrespectful to the other teams but I feel with the players we have, we should have that sort of belief.”

After joining the club in the summer from Greenock Morton, the 24-year-old believes he hit the ground running at the start of the campaign, but wants to bring more consistency to his game.

“I felt like I started the season really well. It’s a bit like the team as a whole. I got off to a flyer after all the issues with Covid at the start of the season. When you sign for a new club you want to hit the ground running and I did that.

“The last few weeks I don’t think I have played as well as I can. I like to take ownership of my performances and I don’t think I’ve been good enough.

“I believe in my own ability, I just need to show it every week. I don’t mind pulling in boys who might need a lift in a match too so they reach their best.”