The Waterford United manager locked his players in the dressing room for over 45 minutes following this terrible result. Before he spoke to his charges he pulled no punches when asked to explain what had unfolded during the course of the 90 minutes.
“I never had the honour of wearing the Waterford shirt as a player but if I had done I would be ashamed if I was part of a team that played like that. I an embarrassed by it all, I really am. It was shambolic, shocking and horrendous in every way. Every one of those players will have to take a long hard look at themselves. They left the supporters, the management committee and the club short here tonight.
“During a season when a lot of talk has gone on about being left short money wise, well they left every one short tonight. It was shambolic to a man. All of them looked tired and drained for some reason. People might say we are not fit but that is not the case. You would not believe the amount of preparation we put in for games and then they go out and perform like that.
“I thought the news of getting the extra points from the Athlone game would get a positive reaction but even that news could not lift them. I want to apologise to the fans who travelled for two and a half hours to support us and then they go out and play like that.
“Mike Kerley had his knockers when he was with Waterford but he has a very good team now here in Limerick. They are not as good as Shelbourne or Dundalk but what does that say about us? We will probably go out and beat Dundalk next week but if the players playing for this club don’t enjoy playing then why are they playing”, said Cronin before heading quickly to the dressing room to try and make sense of it all with his players.
