Naysmith: We didn’t do ourselves justice v Pars

It was an uncharacteristic performance from the usually-resolute Warriors, who lost 3-0 on Saturday at East End Park after conceding cheap goals from Chris Hamilton, Ewan Otoo and Lewis McCann.

"I think you have to be honest,” former Scotland full-back Naysmith said. “We had a chance to show that we are a good team against higher calibre opposition.

"Whether that would have been good enough or not to get a result would have been open to debate but we never really got anywhere near the levels that we can get to.

"I thought Dunfermline were worthy winners, I also thought they played well.

"They got a bounce from their new manager (Michael Tidser) coming in, he changed a couple of things. Their rotations - we struggled to cope with them.

"We tried to change the shape a couple of times but it didn't really make a difference.

"We had one clear cut chance, it may have made the game slightly different, Mikey (Anderson) going through but I think it’s a good save.

"And then on top of that we've lost three really, really poor goals. The third goal just kills the game.

"You speak at half time, 2-0 down, you try and say to the players, listen, it doesn't matter what time but if we get the next goal it makes it nervy for them.

"We shot ourselves in the foot, we gave up the space in the middle of the pitch, one ball took a whole midfield out, the game's over after 46 minutes.”

Naysmith went for the most experienced starting line-up he could have for the fourth-round tie, but it the Warriors’ younger players who did get pass marks, with recent loan signing Ben Black looking sharp off the bench.

He added: “The younger guys did well when they came on. Ben (Black) did well, Scott McGill got half an hour too.

"I knew it was a big game. If you look at all my experienced players, nearly every one of them started.

"But, you know, the way the game went, that didn't work out. That isn't due to them as individuals, just what I thought was going to happen in the game never happened.

"We're all in it together. We can't just write it off and forget about it. We were beaten 3-0 and no one wants to lose that heavily.

“You have that concern that it could become a four, a five, a six-goal scoreline."

Second-placed Stenhousemuir now return to William Hill League One action this Saturday when they host Paul Hartley’s Cove Rangers at Ochilview.