Ethan Ross has apologised to Raith Rovers supporters after a chastening 4-0 defeat extended the Fifers’ winless streak in the Championship to 11 matches.
The 20-year-old also stated that the entire squad must ‘look in the mirror’ if Rovers are to salvage their promotion push.
Goals from Tomi Adeloye, Sam Ashford and a James Maxwell brace gave the Honest Men their biggest victory over Raith since October 1959, with the home side leaving the field to a cacophony of jeers.
Despite picking up just six points from a possible 33 since December 11, the Stark’s Park outfit remain one point behind fourth-placed Inverness in the final playoff place.
But that is scant solace for Ross.
“We let down the fans, the club and our management team,” said the former Scotland under-19 international. “That was not a Raith Rovers performance.
“We were in the dressing room racking our brains to find out what happened. All we can do is apologise to the fans and come out next week and put on a proper Raith Rovers performance.
“The mood wasn’t good (in the dressing room). We can’t expect to stay at the top end of the table if we can’t beat Ayr United at home, with the greatest of respect to Ayr.
“None of us were up to scratch. When no-one performs acceptably, then it’s tough to come away with any result. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror and rectify that.”
Enjoy your night everyone! 🖤🤍#WeAreUnited #SuperAyrAway pic.twitter.com/PWYSicqALH
— Ayr United (@AyrUnitedFC) March 5, 2022
The profligate finishing and dire defending was night-and-day compared to the stirring 2-1 victory against Kilmarnock just three days earlier which sent Rovers into the SPFL Trust Trophy final.
“We had a great win on Wednesday but that’s in the cup and that means nothing in terms of us coming away with a 4-0 defeat in our next league game,” added Ross.
“We now have eight Championship games to go and we need to pick ourselves up, work even harder.”
Self-critique
Ross’ assessment comes with a healthy dose of introspection.
The former Aberdeen youngster was far from the worst performer on Saturday. Indeed, he saw a shot in the second half drift inches wide of the post, while he delivered a tantalising delivery which begged to be converted. No takers.
However, Ross is determined to rediscover the blistering form which saw him notch four goals and an assist in his first seven matches after returning to Stark’s Park in October.
“I’m more than disappointed by my own performance on Saturday, and recently,” Ross said candidly. “I need to start helping the team more.
“We need to start scoring goals and I believe that can be my contribution. I’ve not done it enough recently.
“I’m disappointed by that but I’m going to keep believing in myself and believing in all of my teammates.
“As a team, there’s always been that belief. Right through this sticky patch, we’ve never lost that.”
