SCOTT BROWN has urged Ayr to cut out the individual errors that he says are costing his team the chance to move clear of the Championship drop zone.

Chris Hamilton’s unmarked header gave Dunfermline the lead at East End Park on Saturday, before Sean McGinty was caught in possession, opening the door for Chris Kane to add a second in first half stoppage time.

The defeat, combined with Inverness Caley Thistle’s surprise win at Morton, leaves Ayr just two points ahead of the relegation play-off place.

The loss undid much of the good work done in last Tuesday’s thrilling 4-3 win over Partick Thistle at Somerset Park, and without a game this weekend, Brown admits the defeat in Fife could play on his players’ minds between now and their next game at Inverness on March 16.

“It’s definitely brought us back down to earth,” Brown told Ayr United TV after Saturday’s match.

“We have to stop individual errors. That’s what’s costing us. We have to be a little bit mentally stronger.

“It’s going to be lingering in the back of everybody’s heads that we could have put a good distance between ourselves and Dunfermline.

“There wasn’t a lot in the game – we played some good football from the back to the middle third but we just didn’t create enough clear-cut chances.

“It’s small margins that win and lose you games, and individual errors at a set play and an individual mistake cost us.”

Ayr’s squad on Saturday included defender Nathan McGinley, whose move to Somerset Park was confirmed on Friday after the 27-year-old was released by Motherwell in January.

But the former Forest Green Rovers man, who spent the first part of this season on loan at Partick Thistle, will have to wait for his debut after being an unused substitute at East End Park.