Stuart McCall hasn’t given up on Sevco’s dream of reaching the top flight next season.
A defeat at Hibs on Sunday would see the Ibrox strugglers fall nine points behind Hibs in the battle for second place.
After one win in nine games since losing to Celtic in the League Cup there is a danger that McCall’s men could be overtaken by Falkirk and Queen of the South to miss out on a play-off place.
The former Motherwell boss was charged with lifting the players from the despondency of Kenny McDowall’s disastrous reign and refused to write off his side’s promotion hopes despite watching them draw at home to Livingston and Alloa.
“I’m hugely disappointed and massively frustrated but if people think the season ends tonight they’ve got an awakening ahead of them,” lion-heart McCall warned.
“Nobody will give us a hope going to Hibs on Sunday but I saw a lot of performances I could take a lot from. It’s not good enough against a side second bottom of the table.
“There’s a long way to go this season and there will be no defeatist attitude from anyone in my dressing room.”
The condition of the Sevco squad has come in for criticism with many fans pinning the blame on Ally McCoist’s holiday camp approach to training.
After going 2-1 up against Alloa on Tuesday night McCall looked on in agony as an 82nd minute goal from Liam Buchanan gave Alloa’s collection of bin men, taxi drivers, hairdressers and butchers a point to think over at their main job the following day.
When he took over McCall’s first task was to call his players in from their Thursday day off but the former Motherwell boss has no complaints about the condition of his players.
“I’m not one of these managers who goes into a club and says they’re not fit enough and we need to improve their fitness,” the new Ibrox gaffer explained.
“There are certain things we might lack in the squad, as in loads of legs or loads of pace, but I’m not going to start saying I’ve inherited an unfit squad because that’s not the case.
“Fitness comes with a lot of things. It can be confidence. If you’re playing with a spring in your step you get to the ball quicker. If you’re on top of things you look a bit brighter.
“Winning games and playing well will restore it, but that is easier said than done and we’ve got a few short-term goals.
“W’ve got to go into them with momentum, with some wins and confidence behind us. If you get into the play-offs you’re then playing cup football and anything can happen there.”
