Steven Lawless admits that Motherwell let their supporters down in the shock derby defeat to Airdrie in the Premier Sports Cup.
Almost 700 ‘Well fans travelled across Lanarkshire for the first competitive meeting between the sides since 2007.
But it proved to be a disastrous trip as the Diamonds ran out 2-0 winners courtesy of second-half goals from Rhys McCabe and Scott McGill.
The Fir Park faithful were far from pleased with the performance and Lawless conceded that it was simply unacceptable.
The 30-year-old said: 'There's been a few words in there [dressing room] -the boys know that it’s not good enough.
“Even on a night when it’s not going your way, we need to show a bit more and it’s really disappointing.
“We need to take it on the chin and move on quick but it’s going to be hard because we know how much this meant to the fans and the club.
“It’s really disappointing to let them down and hopefully we can bounce back at the weekend and put this result to bed.
Motherwell host Annan Athletic at Fir Park in a decisive final group stage match in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday.
The Steelmen sit third in Group F and need to win to have any chance of qualifying and Lawless says they must repay the supporters.
“Games are coming thick and fast just now,” said Lawless. “We knew how much this game meant to people. It’s going to hurt for a few days but we need to move on.
“Hopefully by Saturday evening the fans have forgotten about it and are happy again. We tried to do as much as possible but we need to show more.
“It can’t always be pretty football and we need to be able to find the results in games like that.”
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