Rutherglen Glencairn boss Willie Harvey tore a strip off his side after their 2-1 defeat at Kilbirnie Ladeside on Saturday – but won’t get carried away.
Harvey says it was a bad day at the office for a side that has otherwise played well in the West of Scotland League Premier Division, but he is looking for a reaction when his old club Blantyre Vics visit on Saturday.
He said: “I was really disappointed, I didn’t think we showed up, and the players themselves know they let themselves down.
“We didn’t get out of first gear, I didn’t think they got into first gear to be honest, never created a great deal of chances, didn’t have the energy that we’ve had in the last couple of weeks.
“I hate use of the term ‘bad day at the office’ but that’s what it was.
“I’m not going to start jumping up and down and going mental about it, because the boys have been absolutely brilliant, and you know there are going to be hiccups along the way, so you have to take the good with the bad.
“I would just say too many people had a bad day, had an off-day, and we let ourselves down, but this week we hope to see some bodies coming back from injury and things like that, so with a wee bit of luck we will start to strengthen up again.”
Harvey is looking forward to locking horns with Blantyre Vics, having spent years there as manager, but says there is no split loyalty.
He said: “I have a lot of good friends who are still at Blantyre, it’s a club that I really think very highly of.
“I had a great time there, won the league a couple of times, so it’s always nice to get one over on your old team.
“I look forward to catching up with some old friends, but the main thing for us is getting three points on Saturday and getting back on track.
“I’m looking for a reaction, and at the end of the day I think the boys will react.
“We’ll get training sorted out this week and we’ll have a chat as we always do after a defeat. But I’m not going to labour too much on it – I don’t want all the positive things that we’ve had over the past couple of weeks derailed by one week.
“It has been one poor game, and it’s how we react to a poor game that will show me what we’re made of.
“I think I know what we’re made of, and I’m quite confident that we’ll react positively.”
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
