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IF THE Dunfermline squad were under any illusions of the depth of disappointment harboured by manager Jim Jefferies following Saturday’s loss to neighbours East Fife, the vigorous work-out they were made to endure in training on Tuesday was a stark answer.

If that was not bad enough, the Pars boss yesterday warned his players it will be the same again on Sunday morning unless they show they have learned their lesson in tomorrow’s home encounter with Brechin City.

Jefferies was particularly enraged by what he saw as a lack of application in the majority of his side as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat by their Methil neighbours on Saturday.

Intheirvideoanalysisoftheloss, theplayers argued that the Fifers’first goal came from a penaltythatshouldnothavebeenawardedand their second from an offside position but this did not wash with their manager.

Coming as it did just seven days after a performance full of work rate and exertion in their 2-0 defeat to League One champions Rangers at Ibrox, Jefferies could not understand the drop in standards that resulted in a third loss in four games.

The battle- worn 63- year- old is optimistic his training-ground reaction to the performance will ensure there is no repeat against Brechin, as the East End Park outfit seek the victory that could clinch their promotion play-off berth.

He said: “The players have been well warned. It’s not been often I’ve had to do that but, when it was as bad as it was on Saturday, the players had to realise it wasn’t good enough.

“For me, there were far too many passengers. There were about four guys who were not as bad as the rest but the other seven in the team were on a par with each other.

“The ability didn’t change from the previous Saturday at Ibrox to the game against East Fife. What changed was the application and that’s not acceptable.

“I let them sweat a wee bit on Monday, and then they watched the game back on the video, and then on Tuesday they sweated even more!

“At this stage of the season, to be worked so hard teaches them a lesson. If it doesn’t, they’ll be in here on Sunday morning doing the same thing.

“It’s not about the result. If you do work hard and it’s not your day, then you can accept it. What the supporters and myself will not accept is that level of application.

“All you can do is hope for a reaction. They’ve had a good week, they’ve had a good warning about what’s expected of them and we’ll see what happens.”

Dunfermline welcomed midfielder Josh Falkingham back to training yesterday after a bout of tonsillitis and fully expect on-loan Partick Thistle keeper Ryan Scully to be passed fit to play, despite dislocating a toe on his left foot for the second time in the East Fife defeat.

Although Ryan Wallace is almost certainly out due to a problematic inflammation on his pubic bone, the Pars squad is in good health going into tomorrow’s match.

If they require an example of the hard work expected of them, Jefferies insists they should look no further than the club’s under20s, who secured a 1-0 win over their Celtic counterparts earlier this week.

Jefferies added: “I watched under-20s team on Monday and our they were outpowered, in terms of physical strength and everything, and Celtic had a lot of good players but through sheer grit and determination, and will to win a football match, the young boys set a great example.

“That’s what you have to do sometimes.”

Picture: SNS. Jim Jefferies: looking for more application from his players.