Renfrew boss Jimmy Quigley held his hands up and took “full responsibility” after seeing his much-changed side stutter against Rutherglen Glencairn.
Despite going up against a team from the division above in the second round of the WoSFL Cup, ‘Frew boss Quigley made seven changes as he rotated his squad to give some players more game time after spells on the sidelines.
But the decision didn’t have the desired effect on the pitch, with the visitors at New Western Park racing into the break with a comfortable three-goal lead.
While Renfrew battled back in the second half, netting one consolation through substitute Dominic Lavelle, ultimately the hosts had left themselves too much of a mountain to climb.
And Quigley refused to blame his players, suggesting he’d tinkered with his starting XI too much to give them a proper chance of causing an upset.
He told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was a poor performance from us. We never really got going. I take full responsibility for that though as I made seven changes, which in hindsight was probably too much.
“I changed our centre halves and our centre mids, pretty much the whole spine of the team. I trust our squad and I didn’t think it would have as much of a difference as it did.
“But it was unfair on the boys that came in because it was too much change, especially as some of the boys coming in hadn’t had an awful lot of game time before then.
“The first half was poor and we lost three preventable goals. We did win the second half, Dom got one back for us which was rare as he doesn’t score many!
“They’ve not lost at home all season and their front two are strong players. They wanted it more than us and they gave us a tough afternoon.
“If I’d played the team that started against St Cadoc’s then it might have been closer, but I think it’s only fair we give everyone who is working so hard every week in training minutes on the pitch.
“Cup games are the ideal opportunity to do that. Unfortunately this time around the amount of changes were too disruptive and I hold my hands up for that.”
With most other WoSFL games off at the weekend, Renfrew are hoping the deep freeze thaws out in time for their Second Division clash against Maryhill this Saturday coming.
‘Frew currently sit joint-top of the division with Forth Wanderers, who have played three more times than Quigley’s men.
He hopes the pitch at New Western Park is playable as they look to bounce straight back to winning ways and maintain their spot at the top of the division.
Quigley said: “Fingers crossed the frost will lift towards the end of the week, as ice is the only thing that stops us at New Western Park.
“We’ve still got 19 league games to go and a cup final. There’s still everything to play for.
“The boys need to refocus quickly and get back to winning ways. It can still be a very special season for the club.”
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