The head coach of Dunfermline Rugby Club's senior men's first XV is looking for a response from his players when they travel to Greenock Wanderers in their next match.

Gavin Emerson has also said that the squad need to put their last outing, a defeat at Strathmore, to the back of their minds as they prepare to begin their second round of fixtures in National League Division Four.

The McKane Park team sit third in the standings, having won five of their nine matches played, but their last outing saw them lose their fourth.

They went down by a 50-10 scoreline as Strathmore maintained their perfect winning record so far, with Emerson admitting he was disappointed that the margin of result was as big as it was.

READ MORE: Dunfermline lose at Strathmore in 'off performance'

Dunfermline face a Greenock side on Saturday November 23 that they scored 50 points against without reply in their home fixture in September, and Emerson said: "It was disappointing (against Strathmore) but it was always going to be a tough battle.

"It was just a shame that we didn't front up to how we could've.

"That's probably the main thing from our side. If we went there and performed the best we could, and then didn't win the game, it is what it is.

"But the fact we just didn't really give a good account of ourselves is a shame. I do put it down to not having the best training numbers in those four sessions on the run-up to the game, when we had things we wanted to work on, and we wanted to cover ahead of that game.

"It's just a shame, but people need rests, people had other things to do over that time, it's just a shame on the guys that had been coming to training, putting the work in, and then we go up there and just underperform.

Gavin Emerson is hoping his side can respond to the loss at Strathmore when they play Greenock Wanderers.Gavin Emerson is hoping his side can respond to the loss at Strathmore when they play Greenock Wanderers. (Image: David Wardle.) "We made quite a lot of unforced errors. If we had the right personnel at training, would we have made as many errors? I don't think so.

"It's a lesson learned from us, it's an experience for us, and we just need a response in the sessions we've got before we go away to Greenock Wanderers. That's a potential banana skin, in a game we should comfortably win.

"We just need to park it, put it in the back of our minds, and just move on.

"We're still in third place, so it's not all lost."

Kick off for the match is at 2pm.

READ MORE: Sharks bitten by Alloa to exit Caledonia Midlands Bowl

Meanwhile, on the same afternoon, Dunfermline's men's second XV return to action in Caledonia Midlands Region League, Division Three, as do Rosyth Sharks.

Fourth-placed Dunfermline make the short trip to play Kirkcaldy second XV, who sit top, whilst the Sharks, who are third, go to Waid Academy FP, who are fifth in the standings.

Both of those matches also start at 2pm.