The 44-year-old was yesterday relieved of his duties, with the Cappielow defeat the straw that broke the camel’s back after a poor start to their Premiership campaign.

According to now former Fir Park boss Baraclough, the tireless and tenacious 20-year-old was everything the Well players were not as they were sent spinning out of the competition by a gutsy Ton side.

The Englishman lamented: “Where did it go wrong for us? The first half for me, the first half. I look at the difference between their number 18 Samuel [and our players].

“He scrapped and fought for every little morsel of the ball he could get for his team and for himself, and that wasn’t there for us in the first half.

“We improved second half and had the better of it, got on top of the game, commanded the ball and moved it better.

“But we gave ourselves a mountain to climb by going one behind at a place where we knew it would be difficult if we let them get on top. We accept that in the first half they were on top.

“It changed in the second half and we expected to go on from there [equalising in injury time] but for some reason we took a step back and allowed them to come onto us again.

“Did the players let me down? They let themselves and their families down, that’s how I look at it and try and get it across to them.

“Some of them have the talent to go on and earn a lot more money than what they’re on here, and if they don’t they’ve let themselves and their families down.

“Because the talent is there, it’s just desire and work-rate to go and work and be as good as you can as a footballer and get the maximum out of what they’ve been blessed with.

“Listen, I don’t mind losing games of football and there’s a manner in which you do it, but let’s not take away from Morton.

“They deserve credit for going and taking advantage and putting the bundle in for themselves and football club to get through to the next round.”