Johnstone Burgh manager Murdo MacKinnon admitted his side were well below their standards as they exited the Scottish Communities Cup with defeat to Dundee North End.
Burgh went out of the competition at the quarter-final stage following a flat performance, ending their cup run after what has otherwise been a strong spell for the side.
Speaking after the match, MacKinnon did not hold back in his assessment when asked by the Burgh’s media team: “So, we exit the cup today with a 2-0 defeat, so what’s your thoughts on that one?
Murdo said: “I thought we were at our wimper, to be totally honest with you. I don’t think it’s a performance that reflects on what we’ve been trying to do here over the last couple of years.
“So, bitterly disappointed in the performance of the group today.”
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Johnstone Burgh exit Scottish Communities Cup after 2-1 defeat to Dundee North End
The Burgh boss pointed to a lack of energy and competitiveness throughout.
“I think there was so much wrong with the performance. I think we lacked energy, we lacked an enthusiasm, which is incredible in a Scottish Cup quarter-final.
“I thought that Dundee were far more competitive, far more hungry.
“I don’t think they won a second ball all day. Part of the problem with it, and we gave away really, really poor goals.”
He went on to question the overall standards within the group and called for a reaction over the remainder of the season.
“There’s so many different aspects of our game that I’m bitterly disappointed with just now. I think as a group, everybody within the group needs to have a wee look at themselves and needs to show a wee bit of character. We’ve got an awful lot of football to play between now and the end of the season.
“I thought their performance today looked like an end of season game, if I’m being totally honest with you. So I’m bitterly disappointed. I’ll reflect on that myself. I take responsibility for putting the team in the park.
“I’ll be good here and I’ll certainly be looking at the team that I’ve picked and whether that’s the right bodies. I’ll need to speak with the staff and we’ll analyse it and we’ll have a look. I might just need to start picking bodies that are not going to perform on the weekly. Because at the moment I’m not getting that at all. That’s really disappointing for the group of players as well. The performance levels are really poor.
“Apologies to the supporters. They come and they expect a level of performance out of the group, understandably. But for me, it really hurts badly because that’s not the way you get put out of the cup.
“We have no other choice. I’ll speak to the staff. We need to analyse our performance, what we’re doing well and what we’re not doing well. We’ll look at the performances today and who we think. We’ll also look at injuries and stuff like that. People need to step up and they need to perform in those games. There’s no hiding place. The bottom line is you either show character and you turn up and you go and you perform. You’re a top player or you’re not.”
The defeat brings an end to Burgh’s cup campaign, with focus now turning back to league fixtures as they look to respond after what MacKinnon described as a performance far below expectations.