Michael Gardyne has lambasted Owen Coyle as “hopeless”, and claimed the former Ross County manager presided over an ill-fated spell in charge where players were encouraged to eat cakes and drink sugary drinks on a daily basis.

Ross County, winners of the Scottish League Cup in 2016, the club’s first major senior trophy, were relegated from the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday following six seasons in the top flight after recording just six league wins this campaign.

The Dingwall outfit sacked their League Cup-winning manager Jim McIntrye on September 25 last year when they were 10th in the table.

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Coyle, who took Burnley to the Premier League and also managed Bolton Wanderers in England’s top league, was a surprise appointment at the Global Energy Stadium just days later. However, Coyle won only four of 21 league matches and submitted his resignation at the beginning of March.

Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson were brought in as co-managers, and while they have achieved only one win since, Gardyne left little doubt as to where he believes the root cause of Ross County’s relegation lies.

“I think the first sacking was a wee bit unfair, but then Coyle came in and… hopeless,” said Gardyne.

“When Coyle came in it was all right for a couple of games, but we didn’t work on enough stuff to prepare for matches.

“We were playing games in training for cakes and Irn Bru every day when we needed to be preparing for big games in the Scottish Premiership.”

Coyle, who was in charge when Bolton were relegated to the Championship in 2012, came to County after two short and unsuccessful spells at Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers, sandwiched by a period working in the MLS with Houston Dynamo. While Gardyne admitted the players were ultimately to blame during Coyle’s tenure, he further questioned his former manager’s credentials.

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“I spoke to a few lads that played under him at Burnley and they said they had big characters in their team, seven or eight captains, that got them through,” the midfielder, 32, said.

“Obviously his track record wasn’t great with a couple of relegations under his belt.

“I don’t want to badmouth him too much because it’s all about us. He can only put 11 players on the pitch.

“We need to look at ourselves and the blame lies with the players at the end of the day.”

Ross County required victory at McDiarmid Park on Saturday coupled with Partick Thistle failing to beat Dundee to reach the relative safety of the play-off spot position.

For more than an hour the unlikely looked on after Craig Curran’s early opener for Ross County and Thistle being held at Dens Park.

Kris Doolan’s strike in 63 minutes for Thistle, however, rendered County’s result irrelevant, but that his side couldn’t even earn three points after David Wotherspoon struck a fine injury-time equaliser for St Johnstone further irked Gardyne.

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Co-boss Kettlewell admitted that relegation would financially hurt Ross County – and with a number of players out of contract the squad that will attempt to return the Highland club to the Premiership at the first time of asking next season could look considerably different.

“Since the new management team came in the new boys have bought into it, but we just fell short,” Gardyne said.

“I never thought we were out of it but even [on Saturday] we should have won and didn’t. It sums up the season.

“This club is close to my heart and you think about people that might lose their jobs. That’s the bit that hurts the most.”

Former Celtic youth player Gardyne has been strongly linked with a move to Dundee, while his former side Dundee United, for whom he played in between his two permanent spells at County, are also said to be interested.

“I’m out of contract but there’s been a bit of interest which is nice,” Gardyne, who scored in the 2016 final win, said.

“I’ll speak to my agent and take it from there. I’m sure the club have got a plan in their mind.”

Asked directly whether, in hindsight, it was wrong to sack McIntyre, Gardyne replied: “No comment, I’m trying to get a contract for next season.”