ALLAN Moore has ordered his players to put thoughts of their futures on hold and go out and give it their all to win the final game of the season against Falkirk tomorrow.
There has been an air of uncertainty hanging over the club in recent weeks with the manager and the majority of the playing squad out of contract and the possibility of part-time football looming.
In the meantime, on-field performances have suffered as Ton have slumped to four defeats in their last six matches, including last week's disappointing home defeat against Hamilton Accies.
The Greenock men conclude the 2012/13 season when they travel through to the Falkirk Stadium to face Gary Holt's Bairns tomorrow afternoon. With his squad contracted until 15 May, Ton boss Moore says they have no excuses for a failure to perform and has told them to go out and earn their pay.
He told the Tele: "I wouldn't say we can finish the season on a high now. We've let that go over the last few games. "We've let ourselves down. I think we've tarnished all that hard work with our results recently, and I think the fans feel the same.
"At the end of the day, we've not produced enough good football since the Partick Thistle game, and sometimes that's just a mind thing.
"Whether that's down to not knowing about contracts or feeling the season was over after the Thistle game, I can't tell you.
"You'd need to ask the players what's in their minds. It's been really disappointing. The last few games have been deflating, and I really hope we don't disappoint the fans again tomorrow. There has been a lot of uncertainty at the club, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse.
"When you walk on that pitch you should be able to go out and produce.
"I mean, that's the only 90 minutes you get away from it; when you don't need to worry about your future.
"So I'm not making it an excuse for myself and Mark [McNally], and I'm not making it an excuse for the players.
"We've told them in no uncertain terms that we weren't happy with them after the Dunfermline game and that we certainly weren't happy with them last Saturday.
"There's no other way to dress it up, and we'll not be happy with them if they don't win this Saturday, whether they're here next year or whether they're not. That's irrelevant.
"It's a game of football. They're paid until 15 May, so they should be going out and winning games.
"What I expect from our players is to go out with a bit of pride and play for themselves. The team I pick to play Falkirk tomorrow will hopefully do that and finish the season with a victory." One player who will miss out against the Bairns is midfielder Michael Tidser. The 23-year-old is suffering with a groin problem which has seen him sidelined since the defeat at Partick Thistle. He does, however, still have a big weekend ahead of him with the PFA Scotland awards dinner scheduled for Sunday.
Tidser is one of four nominees up for the First Division Player of the Year and has also been named in the divisional team of the year.
Manager Moore is incredibly proud of his playmaker and believes he has an excellent chance of winning the award on the night. He beamed: "The credit has to go to Tidser. He listens, he learns, he's a good player, and for the ability he's got, he's not big headed.
"He's added goals to his game this year and there have been matches that he's almost dragged us through them himself. He never goes and sulks and he's always there for the rest of the players. He's been well brought up and it shows in his character.
"It must've been a big disappointment in his life when Celtic let him go, but he regrouped and bounced back from that.
"I'm absolutely delighted for him. It's another feather in the club's cap as well, and I'd be very surprised if he's not got a right good chance of winning it."
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