MANUEL PASCALI did not wait to be asked.
"It's the same old, same old," muttered the Kilmarnock captain as he sat down, the gloom of a third consecutive defeat enveloping even the ebullient Italian. "Disappointed again. Conceded poor goals again."
Despite his despair, the 32-year-old embarked on a heartfelt homily lasting the best part of eight minutes, during which he performed with a conviction lacking in the efforts of himself and his team-mates against Motherwell. Sloppy defending, a lack of fight, the role of the fans and the prospect of relegation were all addressed in a candid conversation.
It was a display entirely at odds with the supine nature of the Ayrshire side's recent form, a run of three games in which they have failed to reap any reward. The more optimistic of their followers would perhaps point to the fact that two of those defeats were away from home against teams positioned in the upper half of the SPFL Premiership, but Saturday's loss at Rugby Park was harder to rationalise.
Granted, Motherwell are third in the division and, on another day, Kris Boyd might have taken the two fine chances that fell his way, Sammy Clingan's deflected effort might have looped in rather than wide, and Michael Gardyne's shot might have evaded Gunnar Nielsen, but the resilience that characterised their successive home wins in late October - victories which appeared to have ignited their season - was absent at the weekend. "We didn't deserve to get beat but how many times do we keep saying the same thing?" asked manager Allan Johnston.
His primary complaint was that Kilmarnock's consistently charitable defending, illustrated by his detailed description of the mistakes made in the concession of the first goal; Pascali was among those deemed guilty as Motherwell were permitted to break after defending a corner, then allowed to cross from both flanks before the unattended John Sutton eventually headed in. While the captain admitted his own culpability he also pointed to his assorted accomplices. "Other teams are scoring too easily against us and that annoys me so much," he said. "They just sit back and wait for our mistakes. Our opponents don't have to do anything special to go home with points and that angers me more than anything else."
Almost anything else. Pascali became even more exercised as the conversation continued. "We are too nice," he added. "I'm not saying we have to start losing the plot, but you have to show you care. When we lost the goals, it looked to me as if it was like, 'okay, we've lost again', and I don't even want to think about that attitude. Now is the time to be men and show some character."
Rousing stuff, but it is deed and not words that will dictate whether Kilmarnock can avoid a relegation play-off - or potentially worse - come the end of the campaign. The Rugby Park side currently occupy 11th place, 12 points ahead of Hearts, but have the poorest record of any team in the division this term and are beginning to look anxiously over their shoulders once again. "If Hearts had not suffered the points deduction they would be ahead of us," pointed out Pascali. "In five or six matches, they could be right behind us, because they play with everything they have and if we don't do the same then our season will be f****d.
"I know the fans are not happy, but I want them to stay closer to us because the atmosphere was low. We have to stick together. Everyone loves Killie and we have to fight together and not worry too much about what's happening outside the pitch, because it looks as if there's just too much negativity around the club."
Togetherness is something that has underpinned Motherwell's successes in recent seasons and has sustained them through a fitful start to the current campaign. Despite losing four of their previous six matches in all competitions before Saturday, this win eased Stuart McCall's side into third place and showcased the sort of nous and fortitude lacking in their hosts.
Central to their performance was debutant striker Craig Moore, the 19-year-old turning in a lively display that was only marginally marred by his failure to take any of the three fine opportunities that came his way. Not that the teenager assessed his efforts so charitably. "In my eyes, I need to finish them," he insisted. "I didn't let it get to me, though, and the boys were great with me, making me feel like I should be in the team."
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