diff --git a/test/sharness/t0270-filestore.sh b/test/sharness/t0270-filestore.sh
index 2f5e2ec63..a72ea90cc 100755
--- a/test/sharness/t0270-filestore.sh
+++ b/test/sharness/t0270-filestore.sh
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ assert_repo_size_less_than() {
 
 	test_expect_success "check repo size" '
 		test "$(get_repo_size)"	-lt "$expval" ||
-			test_fsh get_repo_size
+			{ echo should be bellow "$expval" && test_fsh get_repo_size; }
 	'
 }
 
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ assert_repo_size_greater_than() {
 
 	test_expect_success "check repo size" '
 		test "$(get_repo_size)"	-gt "$expval" ||
-			test_fsh get_repo_size
+			{ echo should be above "$expval" && test_fsh get_repo_size; }
 	'
 }