Jack Ross has apologised to Dundee United fans following an ‘embarrassing’ 7-0 defeat against AZ Alkmaar.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg and backed by a raucous 1,300 following, United turned in a dismal showing.
After Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener, the visitors shipped six goals in 26 minutes.
Mayckel Lahdo made it seven — United’s heaviest ever single continental result.
“It’s not just about being apologetic, it’s about showing appreciation too,” said Ross. “The fans have travelled, spent good money and it’s our responsibility to produce good performances for them.
“I’m not saying we would have won here with a good performance, because we were up against a really good team. But we were nowhere near the levels we needed to be at.
“It (holding hands up to fans) was an apology for producing that level of performance because we needed to be significantly better.
“When you lose by that scoreline, it’s embarrassing regardless of the level of opposition. To lose six goals in a 26-minute period? That’s not right, irrespective of the opponent — and it will never be right.”
A manager’s job
Only AZ’s own willingness to take their foot off the gas stopped United from succumbing to a new Scottish record defeat in Europe; held jointly by Celtic (7-0 away to Barcelona in 2016) and Hibs (7-0 at home to Malmo in 2013).
Asked whether he feared the defeat could have been worse, Ross said: “You don’t think like that. As a manager, you try to cajole your players and spur them on.
“We wanted to be resilient in the second period but we weren’t.
“It was a bad night.”
Ross added: “It’s a manager’s job to do that; we carry the responsibility for the team in all circumstances.”
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