Dundee United caretaker manager Dave Bowman was brutally honest in an assessment of his “weak” team’s performance in the 3-0 loss to Partick Thistle at Firhill.
The Tannadice side are now rooted to the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership, and former United player Bowman was scathing in his analysis of their woeful showing.
As a player, Bowman was renowned for his consistent grit and determination whilst wearing the tangerine shirt, but he sees the current crop as lacking the necessary personality.
“I said it to the lads earlier and just said it again, but they are a very weak group,” Bowman said.
“They are great when things are going well but you have got to have that inner drive and will to win, and every time when the ball was there to be won it was Thistle players who were getting it.
“The boys have got to show some real strong character. They are not bad players but they must start to take more responsibility themselves.
“I have heard people at other clubs saying that when they play us, after 60 minutes we are a soft touch. We need players who are willing to ask questions and get each other motivated.
“The opening goal typified exactly what is wrong. No one thought about picking up the extra man; it’s just not good enough.”
The interim United boss also confirmed the international break offered the club a good opportunity to identify who they wish to appoint as their new manager, and he has not fully ruled himself out as a candidate.
Partick manager Alan Archibald enjoyed his team’s first league win of the campaign but stressed they must keep battling if they are to avoid another season fighting relegation.
They moved away from the bottom of the table, leapfrogging United, and Archibald was keen to emphasise the importance of his team kicking on from now.
He said: “It’s a massive win for us. When the lads came in on Monday morning and they saw that they were sitting at the bottom of the table, morale was very low.
“But even though it was a good performance and we deserved our win we must continue to work hard. There are reasons as to why we were in 12th position.
“And when we hit the bar at 1-0 it was similar to previous performances, as you are always concerned it might not be your day, but thankfully we were able to convert our chances today.”
The home boss also expressed satisfaction with the performance of goalscorer Mustapha Dumbuya, whose effort was sandwiched by goals from David Amoo and Stuart Bannigan.
He said: “Mustapha is still not yet fully fit but he offers us plenty of energy and pace. That was something we strived to bring to the club in the pre-season and it was great to see him manage to score as well today.”