"We're not dead yet' claims Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins

Boos rang out across Brandywell Stadium after another abject first half performance against Sligo Rovers which left the City boss 'baffled'.

Higgins said he 'hated' what he saw from his side and admitted it would've been an 'injustice' had Derry snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the 10 men of Sligo who took a deserved lead in spectacular fashion thanks to Connor Malley's stunning first half strike.

A Reece Hutchinson own goal levelled the game and while both teams spurned gilt-edged chances in the second half Derry didn't do enough to clinch a first league win since August 23rd despite the rather harsh sending off of Luke Pearce on 75 minutes.

That's four 1-1 draws in their last four home games in the league as the pressure of winning the title appears to be weighing heavily on the shoulders of the Derry players who looked jaded.

Despite dropping four points from their two games in hand on their home turf over the last four days, Derry incredibly remain in second place and moved to within two points of leaders Shelbourne.

The FAI Cup finalists boast just one win in their last nine league matches and have taken 11 points from a possible 30 in their last 10!

Hardly league winning form and if they're to somehow end their 27 year wait for the championship they must do it the hard way as they limber up for away trips to a Dundalk team battling for survival and St Patrick's Athletic who are very much in this title race following a six game winning streak.

Higgins admits there's no room for error now and has challenged his players to stand up and 'lose their inhibitions' if they're to keep their double hopes alive.

"It's been an awful long time since the club won the league. We were and we still are in the best position we've been in for a long time in terms of trying to win one so that will be our focus.

"We will probably have to win all three games I'd imagine now to win it. That's our focus. We had the opportunity to take control of the league table but we haven't done it but we're still not dead yet.

"You can either shrivel up or stick your chest out and stand up to the challenge. I hope that's we decide to do is stand up and be brave and approach the last three games with no inhibitions." The frustrations and nervous tension from the Brandywell stands was certainly felt by the Derry bench and Higgins felt the boos at half-time from the home support were fully justified.

"The boos were absolutely justified," said Higgins who locked his team in the dressing room for 30 minutes after kick-off to begin the inquest.

"Of course they were. The minimum requirement that supporters want to see is people fighting for their club and we didn't do that in the first half. It's happened too many times.

"We've missed another big opportunity. It's a hard one to take but what do you do? You have to keep going. You have to keep fighting and certainly show more fight than we did in the first half anyway.

"The first half performance has baffled me tonight to be honest. It's not acceptable. It's a really poor performance considering what we have to fight for and play for. We were second to every second ball. We lacked energy."

Higgins admitted he got his team selection wrong as he made just one enforced change from Friday's draw with Bohemians and he felt that impacted the performance.

The City chief says it's a time for self-reflection as they gear up for three huge games over the next fortnight.

"You always have to self-reflect. You can't point fingers. You have to look at yourself. Should I have made more changes to the starting team with a quick turnaround given the fact they hadn't played in a couple of weeks and would be fresh? Possibly so.

"So I have to accept that but still we should've shown more energy. I'm not sure if it was a lack of desire. Sometimes when you lack energy, it can come across as that but we were off it.

"It would be an injustice and I'm sitting here telling the honest truth, it would've been an injustice to Sligo if we had won the game. They had their opportunities as well.

"When you look at the fixtures of the other teams, you'd imagine we would have to win all three. We have two and a half weeks to go in the league and we have to commit our lives and give absolutely everything we have to go and try and do this. We certainly have a bit of work to do but I know we're capable.

"It doesn't feel brilliant at the minute of course it doesn't. We're very disappointed and angry tonight but we'll keep going and keep fighting and that's the minimum requirement."

Dundalk are fighting for survival and a trip to Oriel Park isn't exactly the fixture you would hand pick after a demoralising few days.

"They're still fighting for their lives. It will be really tough. We had a brilliant win down there last year so we know we're capable of going down there and winning. There would need to be a big improvement on tonight if we're going to do that. Hopefully we can do that.

"We've big boys in there. Before you look elsewhere you have to self reflect and self analyse and [ask] could we individually do more? "And when you do more as an individual, collectively it helps - it's not rocket science but tonight we were short. For 45 minutes I hated what I seen.

"We have no other option but to keep going, keep fighting and look no further than Friday to try and get a big win."