To say Willo Flood was hurting after Saturday’s comprehensive loss at St Mirren would be an understatement.
The 32-year-old Irishman wears his heart on his sleeve and the Tangerines skipper did not hold back in his brutal assessment of his side’s performance in defeat.
United simply weren’t at the races as their perfect start in the Championship came to an abrupt end along with their tenure at the top of the table.
And Flood candidly confessed the players had embarrassed the club.
He said: “To be fair I thought last week against Brechin we weren’t good enough and got a wake-up call, scraping a 1-0 win.
“But obviously it wasn’t enough of a wake-up call as St Mirren battered us all over the park and we were an embarrassment to the football club.
“When we conceded the first goal we seemed to let our heads drop.
“We didn’t follow the game plan and we never got after them off the ball.
“We never looked like scoring a goal but we did look like conceding which is a recipe for disaster.
“The manager said we should be embarrassed and we need to go home and have a long, hard look at ourselves which is right because with performances like that we will not get this club back to where it belongs.”
The United players’ ears were still ringing from manager Ray McKinnon’s after-match verbal savaging when they came back out onto the pitch for a warm-down followed by a lengthy post-mortem with assistant boss Laurie Ellis.
Flood said: “Lads have got to say what they want.
“For me, I like people to be honest and say what they believe the problem is.
“Laurie was asking a few questions and the lads were coming back with some answers.
“But we just weren’t good enough.
“You can make all the excuses about shapes and this and that but listen, we just didn’t work hard enough.
“And we didn’t show enough bravery on the ball either.”
The Buddies took the lead in the 25th minute when the impressive Lewis Morgan drove from midfield before unleashing an unstoppable low shot from 20 yards past the despairing dive of United keeper Harry Lewis and into the back of the net.
Lewis then had another big scare when he spilled a whipped-in Ian McShane free-kick with Buddies defender Gregor Buchanan pouncing but his shot cannoned off the United post.
McKinnon’s men were riding their luck and had another let-off in the 40th minute when Stewart Murdoch was short with a header, Lewis raced out only to be beaten to the ball by Gavin Reilly but he sent his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.
St Mirren then hit the woodwork again when a McShane corner from the left bounced off the top of Lewis’s crossbar.
United were no doubt relieved to head down the tunnel at half-time just one goal arrears.
However, that relief evaporated just three minutes after the restart when Morgan doubled the home side’s advantage and his own tally with a stunning curling strike from the edge of the United penalty area that flew past Lewis.
The Tangerines needed a spark from somewhere and Jamie Robson tried to provide it with a long-range effort but it sailed over Samson’s bar.
However, the Buddies made it three in the 78th minute with another superb strike from the edge of the United penalty area by McShane with the diving Lewis again having no chance.
United have brought in a whole host of new faces this season and while Flood admitted they still have to gel fully, it could not explain away the dispiriting nature of the defeat.
He said: “Boys are still settling in, boys are coming back from injuries, getting up and running, beginning to know one another.
“But there are no excuses from me – that was just not good enough for the football club.
“We definitely have the quality in the squad to turn it around.
“There are a few people missing like Scott Fraser and Jordie Briels who have made a good start to the season.
“So there is definitely a lot of quality but we just can’t afford to be off it.
“Even if you come away from home and you don’t play well, you just need to grind it out.
“Even a 0-0 draw keeps the confidence going in the camp.
“I am sure there will be a few home truths being told by the manager this week.”
