Published: Monday, 11th May, 2009 12:30pm

Ton end on low note

Morton 0 Ross County 2

Near thing: Iain Russell looks on as his first half shot is tipped round a post by County goalkeeper Soutar, out of picture.
Pic by: Joseph Mulgrew

Morton manager Davie Irons was in no mood to dismiss this defeat as just another end-of-season performance.

He was a very disappointed man as he surveyed the wreckage of his team"s attempt to end the season with a flourish.

He said: 'To lose four games on the bounce at the end of the season is just not acceptable.

'It leaves me with a lot of decisions to make as far as players go. We"re not going to go into a new season accepting that.

'We have to make things better - we had - but all the good work up until the last four games of the season has been eroded.

'To come into the Partick Thistle match four games ago with a chance of still getting promotion, and then not to win another game after that, is poor.

'I can understand the St Johnstone game, because they won the league and that was always going to be a tough game, but all the hard work they put in has evaporated.

'I"m disappointed for the players because they worked so hard to get the club back to a level and back into touching distance of winning promotion.

'Then, just to blow it away in four games is so, so disappointing.

'Credit to Ross County who had something to play for today. I always feel though that, no matter what, you have something to play for - your professional pride.'

Contracts also have to be played for and the Ton boss said: 'The players have six weeks of the close season before they"re back.

'Those doubts are going to manifest themselves in their minds and it"s going to be hard for them to change my opinion in those six weeks, because there is no football to be played.

'I will be working hard to change things round. The players have allowed that to happen.

'The first quarter of the season was poor; the last quarter evaporated in front of our eyes. So for half the season the players have done really well, but that"s not enough. You have to do better than that to win this league.'

Asked if Irons" view of who should or should not be offered new contracts had been affected, the manager replied: 'It changes a lot of things - not just the boys out of contract, the ones in contract.

'I"ve said to them "don"t be surprised if there"s someone whose taken your jersey in the pre-season", because over the piece the league table doesn"t lie and it"s shown that we are not good enough to win this league.

'I know how ambitious I am, and I know how ambitious the board are, and we really want to try and go for it next season.

'If I went with the same group of players I"m kidding myself on because they"ve shown they are not good enough this year. So why all of a sudden next year are they going to be good enough? They can"t, they won"t be, so I have to make sure that changes.

'I"m working 24 hours a day to make sure that we have a better group going in to the start of the new season.'

One who may form part of any new grouping is teenager Carlo Monti who, in the manager"s words, 'has certainly done enough in my eyes. He"s only 18 and in the three games he"s played he"s shown he has ability.

'But it"s not going to be an 18-year-old that"s going to take us to the next level.

'I need to speak to all the players. I"m not going to make any public opinions on players. I"ll give them the respect they all deserve. But to finish on such a disappointing note is hard to bear.'