Following defeat at Kilmarnock, Jim Goodwin was blunt about his team’s performance.

“We wanted to finish 2022 on a high and we failed to do that. The first half was appalling. I said at half-time that the fact we were only 2-0 down was a relief because it could have been 4-0. We caused our own downfall.

“The two goals we conceded were pathetic, we didn’t defend well enough in those situations and that’s happened too often this season, which is why we’ve conceded 32 goals. We’re needing to score two and three goals to hope to take anything from a game at present. That’s not good enough and I have to put that right.

“Even after losing in Paisley on Saturday, I still thought there were positives to take from that game, against Rangers we played well for large spells, but tonight, there is not one single positive that we can take from that 90 minutes. The worst performance of the season by a country mile.

“We didn’t offer anything in terms of possession, we didn’t handle Kilmarnock’s aggression and simply, we didn’t do the basics well enough. Kilmarnock were the better team by a long way tonight, in terms of getting the basics right, doing the ugly side of the game better than we did. They won first headers, picked up the second balls, and we couldn’t get a foothold in the game. We deserved what we got, which was absolutely nothing.

“I don’t think I could say we’ve shown a lack of fight or commitment until tonight. There’s been times we’ve not played well, but we’ve still tried to play our game and worked hard, but tonight, there was nothing to take from it.

“One thing you want from your team is a grit and a desire and that when things aren’t going well, you stand up and be counted. We simply didn’t do that and we’re going to have to go through that, ask some real questions and hopefully get some honest answers.

“I’m accountable as the manager, I brought the majority of them to the club, and I stand by them. I don’t think we’ve become a bad team overnight, but tonight was abysmal and that’s all I can say.”

“I’m accountable as the manager, I brought the majority of them to the club, and I stand by them. I don’t think we’ve become a bad team overnight, but tonight was abysmal and that’s all I can say.”