'I won’t let it happen': Niall Currie slams 'absolutely pathetic' Portadown performance
Portadown manager Niall Currie slammed his side’s performance during their 4-0 league loss to Crusaders as “absolutely pathetic” – and felt “we had a few bodies already on the beach”.
The Crues, who sat bottom of the Premiership table on goal difference prior to Saturday’s fixture, were winless in their previous 12 league matches
However, Declan Caddell’s side breathed new life into their hopes of avoiding automatic relegation by running riot across the opening 28 minutes at Seaview as Kieran McKechnie, Fraser Bryden and Elliot Dunlop all scored.
Bryden netted his second – and 21st of the season – to add further gloss to the scoreline as the Crues leapfrogged Glenavon, who were held to a goalless draw by Bangor.
Portadown mathematically preserved their Premiership status by collecting a midweek point against Carrick Rangers, but Currie’s men have now gone eight league matches without picking up a win.
They’ll round out their campaign with trips to Ballymena United and Bangor over the coming weeks, and Currie is clear he won’t accept players clocking off early for summer holidays.
"It was abysmal from start to finish,” Currie told PortsTV. “The first 10 or 15 minutes of the game you could see it wasn’t right.
"We gave the ball away consistently, didn’t track runs, no first or second ball, Bryden doing what he wanted, the number nine playing in between everybody, ultimately we never strung three passes together, even under no pressure at all.
"The game started the way it finished and it was an absolutely pathetic performance, there’s no doubt about that.
"It’s about making sure we do the right things at Portadown and it was a hell of a let down for all of our supporters...they deserved far better.
"I understand we have a lot of injuries, but that team we put out was strong enough to win this game.
"We looked as if we had a few bodies already on the beach and that’s not happening, I won’t let it happen.
"We have Chappers (Lee Chapman) out for the season, Baris (Altintop) is sitting one booking away from missing games next season.
"In regards to today, it’s absolutely not acceptable.
"Defeats are part of football, but it’s about the manner of defeats, and for me that there today was unacceptable from all the players.
"How some of the supporters were still clapping at the end, fair play to them, but it’s totally unacceptable.”