'We need to get our act together' – Simon Murray apologises to Ross County fans after Scottish Cup exit, but confirms he has no plans to leave Dingwall this month
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Simon Murray apologised to Ross County's supporters after the club exited the Scottish Cup in a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Partick Thistle – and confirmed he has no intention of leaving this month.
The Staggies knew themselves they were not good enough against Partick, who avenged the dramatic Premiership play-off final at the end of last season thanks to goals from Brian Graham, Scott Robinson and Stuart Bannigan.
As a return to action from the winter break, it left a lot to be desired from a County point of view who still look like they are struggling to adjust to manager Derek Adams' plans.
A tweak of formation did not appear to help the Staggies' cause against Partick, with Murray isolated up front and several occasions where there were no targets to aim for in the opposition penalty area.
While the 31-year-old striker refused to blame County's shape for the result, he did suggest that 100 per cent effort was not being given by every player – and says conversations will need to be had amongst the squad ahead of next weekend's league trip to Celtic.
"Obviously we've had that break and time to work after the last disappointing result, and it wasn't good enough today," Murray admitted.
"We're not making excuses, it was just flat. You tell me, was the effort there? I don't know.
"That's one thing the boys have always been known for (working hard), and after we went 2-0 down we created chances, but not as many as we could have. It was a really bad day at the office.
"Obviously we let the fans down. They come and back us all the time, so we have to apologise to them as players because we know that wasn't good enough.
"We definitely need to get our act together. We've been in difficult situations before, we are professionals, so we need to get together and have a word with each other and go again. There's nothing else we can do.
"We do a lot after training, and they're all good guys, so we have the ability to speak to each other and be truthful with each other, so that's what we need to do.
"The good thing about football is that you always have next week to put it right. We weren't good enough today, we know that, so we just need to look at ourselves and nobody else to try and get back on track."
Individually, Murray had been the subject of much speculation that he might be on the brink of leaving Ross County this month, just a year after signing for the club on deadline day last January.
Both Dundee clubs were credited with an interest, with a move to either of them appearing logical given Murray's family are still based there.
However, County's top scorer this season doubled down on his commitment to the cause in Dingwall, insisting he has no plans to leave the club.
"I'm here to fight with the boys," he stressed.
"I won't be going anywhere, I'm a Ross County player and I love it up here. The boys are great, and I'm up here doing my best – I'll continue to do that until I'm told otherwise.
"It's been a mad year, but we're just after a game where we're obviously disappointed.
"I'm out here speaking, and I don't like to do that – I'll go and look at my own game and see what I can do better, but I'm just disappointed for now."
