Derek Adams confirms he has apologised to Ross County players for attack on standard of Scottish football following defeat to Dundee
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Ross County manager Derek Adams has apologised to his squad after launching a scathing attack on the standard of Scottish football.
The Staggies boss lambasted the level of entertainment he had seen in his first five matches back in charge in Dingwall following County's defeat to Dundee last weekend.
That sparked plenty of conversation over whether Adams was right or not, with pundits disagreeing but a number of Staggies supporters agreeing with their manager.
Speaking to the press for the first time since his complaints last weekend, Adams admitted that some players were disappointed with what he had said.
However, the former Morecambe gaffer revealed he has apologised to his current squad – albeit without backing down from his position.
“The players were disappointed because of what I said about my former employers, and I have apologised for that," he explained.
"All I commented on was about the five games I've witnessed. The one comment I made about a former employer I probably shouldn't have made because it wasn't correct.
"Over the piece, I have given my opinion. We're all entitled to our opinion. Sometimes when you give your opinion and it goes against the grain or against what everybody else thinks then it becomes an issue.
"I'll probably rethink things and not give an opinion and then the column inches will be a wee bit smaller from now on.
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“(The reaction) probably has surprised me. What I’ve said is what I’ve witnessed in the five games – there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s my opinion.
“Other people’s opinions can be different, I’ve no issues with that, but I’ve got the right to give an opinion on what I see and that has been my opinion on he five games.
“I stand by that. A lot of people have said ‘you’re correct’, a lot of people have said others are scared to speak out about it, but that doesn’t mean I 'should' speak out about it. It is just what I said after the game.
"It has obviously been a difficult weekend and couple of days, which is my fault because I gave an opinion. We have to get over that and get moving forward now."
The way to move forward, in Adams' mind, is for his players to face up to the gauntlet he has thrown down in front of them and prove him wrong.
Perhaps most disappointing in his mind has been the drop off from his first three matches in charge – where Ross County kept three clean sheets and earned seven points – to his last two, where the Staggies have come away empty-handed.
Demands are high in Dingwall, and Adams would love nothing more than for any player who took offence to his comments to hit new heights to leave him eating his words.
"We need to be performing better," Adams insisted.
“If their manager has come out and said what I said, players are going to be disappointed. It is up to the player to go and prove me wrong and shut me up.
"I say that to them all – it's in training that you've got to change my mind. We've obviously had a team that has played a number of games, and they have done well, but the ones that are on the substitutes' bench have to push me into saying 'wow, I need to give him an opportunity' in training.
“It is up to the players to go out on the pitch and go and score the goals, create the goals, keep the clean sheets.
“The manager picks the side, gives tactics and formation, there’s no doubt about that, but when you step over that white line the manager can’t do as much as the players.
“It is up to the players and it is the same at any level. The manager is only as good as the players – players get you the sack or they get you a move. It is two-sided.”
While Adams hopes his comments after the loss against Dundee will fire the Staggies squad up, they did run the risk of fracturing the dressing room early on in his third tenure.
That, though, is not a peril Adams is overly concerned about.
"I don't think that you always get everyone pulling in the same direction," he added.
"That's never possible. Top managers never get that, there are always people within dressing rooms that managers don't get on with.
"It happens, players will not like a regime under a certain manager. It could be too easy, or it could be too difficult. All the top managers have the same problems.
"When a new manager comes in, he talks in a different way. He maybe tries to motivate people in a different way, and it's the same in any organisation – some people like it, some people won't.
"That's the nature of any business you go into, but all I'm trying to do is get the best out of these players.
"Some people might say that I've demotivated them by talking about a previous employer, but maybe I've motivated them.
"I wouldn't like that to be said about me, so if your manager is saying that go and show how good you are to get up this league."
