Mark McGhee

[fat_tony]

Mark McGhee described his Motherwell side's performance in the 2-0 loss to Kilmarnock as "diabolical".

 

The manager was stunned by his team's showing as defeat took Well into second bottom spot in the Premiership.

 

The Steelmen have gone six league games without a win, while Killie have moved out of the relegation zone.

 

"I'm really disappointed it didn't look anything like I imagined it was going to look after the way we prepared all week," said McGhee.

 

"I thought we prepared right, we had a way of playing in the first half which just didn't materialise at all; we really log-jammed, we had nowhere to go, we had nowhere to pass the ball.

 

"We changed it at half-time and at that point I thought we might just up our game little bit and go on and win the game because I knew we had so much more to come."

 

McGhee insists he knew the task facing him when he returned to Fir Park in October

"It never materialised and we ended up losing the game deservedly.

 

"It's the poorest performance since I've been here and now we have to go away and work out what's caused us to be as poor as we were today.

 

"The performance was diabolical."

 

McGhee fears the result will dent the confidence of his players as they prepare to face bottom side Dundee United on Tuesday evening.

 

But he admits he knew the size of the task he faced when he landed the job for a second time in October.

 

"I would remind people I was brought here not because we were flying, but because work was needing doing and we are in that process," he explained.

 

"Occasionally we are going to have setbacks like that and setbacks like the run we've had recently but we have to as quickly as possible to find a way out of it.

 

"So it's up to me and the coaches and the players to dig ourselves out and prepare for Dundee United and go and have another go."

 

McGhee from the BBC. Pretty spot on really.

[ONeils40yarder]

These same players are now failing under their 3rd consecutive manager...but aye, 'get tae fuck McGhee'

[mjw]

I have no problem with fans thinking we were shit today

 

I have no problem with fans thinking the players are not playing to their potential

 

I have no problem with fans thinking McGhee is the wrong appointment, even if I don't.

 

I have a problem with fans walking out with 20+ minutes left and booing the team. Does nothing to help and shows we are no better than the likes of Rangers

Can you explain to someone who left early yesterday why I am 'no better than Rangers'

[smiddy]

well I also left with 20 mins to go to walk home contemplating why the fuck I gave a sat shift up for that shit ??? but if the situation arises again ,,,, then work wins im afraid #fuckinscunnerdwiit

[Tweed]

So yesterday Kennedy hoofed the ball into the stand, a ringing of boos could be heard. Next time he had the ball he played a short pass that put us into bother. Josh Law played a cross that was way to heavy to a chorus of boos. Next cross was miles short and they hit us on a counter. I know and accept the first clearance and cross were rank rotten and the booing was not meant directly at either of these two guys more the abject nature of our whole performance but it really doesn't help one iota.

 

I thought the formation we played yesterday should have worked. I felt the extra man in midfield made us more robust last week but without Ainsworth's pace it also made us insipid attacking and I thought yesterday's team had a great chance of giving us the best of both worlds. And actually I still believe that but it requires Gomis and Pearson not to be absolutely honking and off the pace and it requires Ainsworth to get involved in the game.

 

McGhee isn't the most likable and that means he needs to do better than someone who is but I still think he'll keep us up and I think he'll turn this. I'm hoping yesterday is like the Dundee game last February and for all everything wasn't brilliant after that we competed better in every single game and we don't have only one team to hit at this time and if we put the same sort of run together through the end of February, March and April and we'll be fine.

 

PS after the last two Januarys I can't imagine there is a team anywhere more pleased to see a winter break.

[Welldaft Mk1]

Can you explain to someone who left early yesterday why I am 'no better than Rangers'

Don't really have too. Most on here know Ibrox empties early even when they are winning, more so when they are losing. In saying that I am not sure even their fans would leave 20 minutes early after going 2 behind.

[mjw]

Don't really have too. Most on here know Ibrox empties early even when they are winning, more so when they are losing. In saying that I am not sure even their fans would leave 20 minutes early after going 2 behind.

Good for the Rangers fans.

You've still to explain though why I'm as bad as Rangers for leaving early?

If you want to pay my £19 to get in then you might get a say in when I've had enough and head home.

[underboyleheating]

If you want to pay my £19 to get in then you might get a say in when I've had enough and head home.

Agreed, everyone is entitled to leave whenever they want. You pay your money, you make your own choice when to go.

[mjw]

Agreed, everyone is entitled to leave whenever they want. You pay your money, you make your own choice when to go.

It's not something I'm normally guilty of but that performance yesterday coupled with the freezing weather, 80 odd minutes was enough.

[ropy]

You should take your punishment and stay to the end, sometimes it gets worse

[Coatsy]

I get the feeling that the players believe that there too good to go down, I can't understand why but its time for a reality check. Our big name players need to up there game and get on with doing a professional job by big names I do mean the senior players in particular, I can always excuse the younger players who are still learning their trade.

 

The only 2 snr players that appear to care are Lasley and Hammell, I think the rest are happy to take the money and talk the talk not walk the walk.

 

I'm not a fan of returning players or managers and I think this has hampered us.

 

Why do we appear unable to pass the ball to a teammate , take a decent corner or free kick what are the players doing in training

 

I'm afraid from what I've seen so far Gomes will cost us more points that he gets us slow and gets caught in possession too much. A poor January transfer window, as I feared McGhee has no meaningful contacts.

[ropy]

What about throw ins?

[capt_oats]

I get the feeling that the players believe that there too good to go down, I can't understand why but its time for a reality check.

I think there's definitely something to be said for this, I wouldn't go as far as to say they think they're too good to go down but there's definitely been a fairly consistent feeling of complacency in the background.

 

Take this interview with Moult (http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34701504) not to single him out but it's just a good example of what I'm getting at and it's unfortunate it's him, By no means is it a dig, he's been one of our better players this season and clearly puts in a shift.

 

However, bear in mind this interview is from 2nd November so well before we put that decent run together (we subsequently lot to ICT 3-1 at FP and 3-0 to Ross County in Dingwall after it ran);

 

""Off the ball we look fantastic at the minute. Even against Celtic and Aberdeen, the shape was fantastic and again against Kilmarnock it was good. It's just when we do get the ball, can we cause a few more problems and finish teams off?

 

"I think if we add that to our game we'll be a real force to be reckoned with.""

 

At that point we'd not long bulleted Baraclough, had lost to Celtic, took a draw at Pittodrie and grabbed a late win at Killie yet we were "looking fantastic off the ball" and could be a "real force to be reckoned with".

 

I know players are asked questions and they're obliged to answer and I don't expect any player to come out with anything other than some vanilla platitudes but in all seriousness it's some bloody leap to go from snatching a late winner vs Killie for our 4th win in 13 to being "a force to be reckoned with".

[Tweed]

I think you showed great restraint not adding in this little cherry from the bottom of the interview:

 

"We don't want (to be involved in another relegation battle) and I believe we won't be - I know for a fact we won't. As long as we keep working hard, we'll get rewards."

[capt_oats]

 

I think you showed great restraint not adding in this little cherry from the bottom of the interview:

"We don't want (to be involved in another relegation battle) and I believe we won't be - I know for a fact we won't. As long as we keep working hard, we'll get rewards."

 

Ooooft! To be honest, I'd totally missed that when I'd looked back at the article. The bit I'd quoted had just stuck with me from when I read it the first time.

[Shaka]

whats everyones thoughts on McGhees handling of Ainsworth? Hung out to dry one week, Hooked at half time after a horror show the next. Has he destroyed one of our most potent attacking weapons?

[Del_Superwell]

Whatever has happened I think Ainsworth looks totally devoid of any confidence, in fact looks like a broken man to me.

[Tweed]

McGhee hasn't helped but Ainsworth has been all sugar or all shite ever since he's been here. Wouldn't be at all surprised if next time he plays he tears someone to shreds. It's just the way he is and if he wasn't he wouldn't be here.

[Spiderpig]

whats everyones thoughts on McGhees handling of Ainsworth? Hung out to dry one week, Hooked at half time after a horror show the next. Has he destroyed one of our most potent attacking weapons?

I dont think its a coincidence that Ainsworth has had umpteen different clubs so far in his career his work ethic is attrocious at times. The odd game here and there he looks up for it but most of the time he doesnt,he very rarely if ever tracks back to help the defence and he seems to have developed a great skill for being anonymous in games. So if he can be bothered yes he is a potent attacking threat but if not which seems to be the norm these days then he is no use to the team at all.

[Shaka]

I totally agree that Ainsworth is amazing or shite and rarely in between. But can you honestly tell me the way to treat a player whos attitude is questionable is to scapegoat them to the media after a mistake,build him up for being "unleashed" before leaving him on the bench then finally playing him and hooking him at galf time?

 

to me,thats shocking man management

[capt_oats]

On the whole, I don't think McGhee's helped himself pretty much since Tynecastle but as far as the Ainsworth thing goes, personally I think our results with him starting, going back to the start of the season, go some way to showing why he's only been played off the bench.

 

Saturday was, as far as I could see McGhee being true to his word and trying to see how he could fit Ainsworth into the team.

 

Essentially the starting XI was by and large designed to give both Ainsworth and Johnson a platform. I don't think anyone who watched the first 45mins would claim it was even close to working. How much of that was down to the players not giving it a chance to work I don't know (see McManus consistently shelling the ball back to front when we had 2 out and out wingers on the park) but for him to be hooked for Moult wasn't a massive surprise, even if we did go from 0-0 to 0-2 after the switch.

 

The whole post-Thistle thing I think has been amplified by Ainsworth's press conference. Did McGhee need to lay the blame at Ainsworth's door? Probably not. Everyone saw the goal, we all watched him lose his man however there were a number of players involved in that passage of play who could & should have done better and for me should have been part of the conversation.

 

That said, he did switch off and we did concede from it so in that respect, taken in isolation, I don't really have too much issue with what McGhee said. Whether it needed to be said publicly is a different matter. For what it's worth I think McManus' appraisal in his pre-game interview last week would have been a better way to address the matter.

 

Again though, I do genuinely wonder if there would have been as much focus on McGhee's observation that we conceded a goal as a result of a lapse in concentration from a player if said player hadn't subsequently gone to bits in the post-match press conference.

 

On his day Ainsworth's easily one of our best players however the problem he has is that we've won more games this season without him starting than we have with.

[Wellfan1984]

These same players are now failing under their 3rd consecutive manager...but aye, 'get tae fuck McGhee'

Pretty much this.

[Busta Nut]

I must be the only person who had no problem with McGhee calling out Ainsworth, Which he never actually did. Was he supposed to ignore that someone lost their man?

[Kmcalpin]

These same players are now failing under their 3rd consecutive manager...but aye, 'get tae fuck McGhee'

Thats very true. Maybe lack of managerial continuity has led to them being extensions or another chance to prove themselves. The close season after we finished 2nd was the time to refresh the squad and we didn't do it. For years now the midfield and in particular the central midfield has needed major surgery but that never happened. Despite losing barrowloads of goals the defence was never cleared out. These failings are not peculiar to Mark McGhee who has only been here a few months.

[Onthefringes]

You've got to admit, upstaging Baraclough in splitting support so early in his tenure would've taken some doing. Surpassed with flying colours.