Raging Rutherglen Glencairn boss Willie Harvey locked his players in the dressing room after their match at Maryhill on Saturday – despite watching them win 4-1.
The Glens gaffer was left fuming by his side’s second-half performance, saying they switched off for the third successive week after taking a heavy lead and told them they can’t afford to drop their standards.
Following a mark of respect ahead of Remembrance Sunday, a Ryan McManus double had Glens cruising in five minutes, with Henry Mitchell adding a third in 12 minutes.
Jack MacLaren pulled a goal back for Maryhill on the half-hour, with Martin McBride completing the scoring 10 minutes later.
Harvey was pleased to progress to the West of Scotland Cup second round draw this evening (Wednesday), but not with his players’ attitudes.
“We had a good chat at full-time with the door closed,” said Harvey, “just basically pointing out that’s three games in a row where the second half finished 0-0, and it was like Tayport all over again.
“The first three goals were scored in under 13 minutes, the fourth was just before half-time.
“The goal we lost is one we shouldn’t lose and I wasn’t happy at all.
“In the first 15 minutes we blew Maryhill out of the water, the game was finished as a competition, but credit to Maryhill, they’re a very young team and they stuck at it.
“But they could have succumbed and lost a lot more goals. If it wasn’t for their goalkeeper, they probably would have.
“In the first 15 to 20 minutes we could quite easily have been 7-0 up.
“We pointed out about the Tayport game and told them to go and finish it in the second half, go and take the game by the scruff of the neck straight away, and it didn’t happen.”
Despite that, Harvey was happy to progress in the competition, but knows his players are capable of so much more.
He said: “We played some really good football, but the second half was really disappointing.
“They can’t afford to drop their standards. It’s attitude, nothing about ability. It’s like somebody’s switched it off at half-time and the attitude is ‘the game’s finished’ and we’ve got to change that, because crazy things can happen.
“We’re trying to drum it into them that we will not accept sub-standard performances in the second half, that they’ve got to keep their game up.
“We have to get into their mind-set, and we will, because they’re a good bunch of boys.”
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