It was straight out of the Roy Keane textbook (or, if you prefer, autobiography). Kilmarnock captain Manuel Pascali strode into the media room at Rugby Park following their comprehensive 3-0 defeat by opponents who were not only bottom of the Scottish Premiership and without an away victory this season but who had also never won at this venue.
The Italian was a study in barely suppressed rage as he questioned the commitment and attitude of his team-mates, players who — only a month earlier — had been sitting in third place.
Three successive defeats encompassing progressively poorer performances have seen them drop out of the top six and Pascali was in no mood to spare anyone’s feelings.
An unfortunate own goal by Craig Samson (the goalkeeper had done well to touch a Graham Carey shot on to his crossbar only for it to strike his head on the way down and drop over the line) started the rot.
However, Michael Gardyne and Paul Quinn were able to exploit dilatory defending to put the Highlanders out of sight before the interval and the lack of fight in the home team had left Pascali spoiling for one.
“We were not good enough from the start to the end of the match,” he said. “No excuses from the first player involved to the last one. Everybody. We had a great start to the season. We played well in a lot of games, especially at home.
“Our work rate every single game was incredible, that’s why we had good success. But in football you have to judge your performance at the end of the season, not after 11 matches.
“So if you start well but then you perform like this, everybody will only remember at the end how bad we were.
“We need to go back to the way we started, how we had been playing, or we are going to struggle because this league is always the same.
“I’ve been here for many years and if you don’t work harder than your opponents then everybody can beat everybody.”
Unlike Keane, Pascali at least had the blessing of manager Allan Johnston to tell some home truths and it is fair to say that, on this occasion, what was said in the dressing room did not stay in the dressing room.
“The gaffer asked me to tell everybody what I think and I don’t like to hide behind things,” he said.
“I’ve always been taught that when it is my fault not to blame anybody else. Today was unacceptable.”
There is a suspicion that some members of the home team had begun to believe that they were now good enough to win matches simply by turning up, although Pascali, who has never subscribed to that belief, could not say whether others subscribed to it.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t, because I know that football can change in one or two games.
“We have to show character. We are going to see if this year it is the same old Kilmarnock, where it looks as if we might push for the top six but we end up in the bottom.”
Match details
Kilmarnock (4-4-1-1): Samson; Barbour, Connoly, Pascali, Chantler; McKenzie, Clingan, Hamill (Muirhead 38), Johnston; Eremenko (Slater 74); Magennis.
Subs: Brennan (g), Miller, Ashcroft, O’Hara, Splaine.
Booked: Hamill, Eremenko, Connolly, Barbour, Clingan, McKenzie.
Ross County (4-2-3-1): Brown; Brittain, Boyd, Quinn, Reckord; Irvine, Woods (Kiss 68); Dingwall, Carey, Gardyne (Toshney 81); Jervis (Boyce 75).
Subs: Regeuro (g), Toshney, Arquin, Maatsen, Frempah.
Booked: Brittain, Irvine, Reckord.
Referee: Stephen Finnie.
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