Rutherglen Glencairn boss Willie Harvey says he "ripped his players apart" after their naive second half display saw them hammered at home by Hurlford.
And he warned them they remain firmly in the grips of a relegation battle after slipping to 10th in the West of Scotland League Premier Division.
Harvey's men were leading their Ayrshire visitors 1-0 at half-time after Jack McIlveen's 10th minute strike, but turned in a woeful display after the break to concede four goals - with three of them arriving in a 15-minute blitz.
Lewis Morrison's strike five minutes after the break sparked the comeback, with Sam Lidington and Paul McKenzie netting in quick succession before McKenzie grabbed his second of the game in stoppage time to complete the victory.
Harvey was furious with his flops and accused them of ignoring his half-time orders after reading the riot act post-match.
He blasted: "At the moment the boys are feeling sore.
"Myself and Joe have just ripped them apart.
"We destroyed them, got right into them and deservedly so.
"They got exactly what they deserved, you can't just let something like that wash away.
"They'll feel sorry for themselves this weekend, but they are a good bunch of boys.
"They'll think about it, they'll be back on Monday and they'll be back training again looking to put it right.
"They were warned when we came in at half-time to expect Hurlford to come at us early in the second half.
"We told them to just close ranks, see the ball out, but too many players didn't listen, they went gung-ho.
"We got caught by their wing backs going forward, we left too much space at the back, at times we were 3 on 3.
"They've been told in no uncertain terms what we think about it and how we are going to deal with it.
"At the end of the day, we were beaten by a better team.
"First half, I thought we shaded it but in the second half we were well-beaten.
"It was all down to the fact Hurlford played so well, it was down to the fact my players didn't show up in the second half.
"Instead of doing what they were told to do, they did the exact opposite.
"They were told they are still in the battle to avoid relegation, don't think for a minute that you aren't.
"It only takes a couple of bad results and you are in trouble."
It had all started so well when McIlveen netted his 11th goal of the season after 10 minutes.
But, in truth, Hurlford had threatened to cause some serious damage and twice game closer to an equaliser in the first half through Morrison, who hit the crossbar and headed narrowly wide.
Eventually, the former Kilmarnock and St Mirren kid did find his way to goal with his second half double and but for some good saves from Glens keeper McGinley it could have been an even heavier defeat.
Harvey added: "It's just naivety.
"We've got a young team. The only experienced players we've really got age-wise is Tam Miller and Mick O'Byrne.
"The rest of the players are all in their early 20s, mid-20s.
"It's inexperience and we need to learn our lesson.
"We got what we deserved.
"We've got harder games to come than Hurlford, so we'll need to sort that out at training this week.
"They will sort it out because they are a good bunch of boys, but they've just had a bad second half."
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
