MANAGER'S VERDICT: Crusaders boss Declan Caddell pinpoints 'only shining light' from Dungannon Swifts defeat which was 'a game too far'

Here’s what manager Declan Caddell had to say after the match:

HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE MATCH?

"I thought Dungannon were really good and ruthless is the word I’d use. There were two mistakes in the first half and they’d two chances in the box and took both of them.

"Second half you’re looking for a response and we had corner after corner, almost got one back and then 20 seconds later you’re 3-0 down...that’s ruthless and when their opportunities came up they took them.

"Their third goal was very good and the icing on the cake for them was the free-kick at the end which summed up their performance.

"It was a hard day at the office for us and it was a game too far with the amount of fixtures we’ve had during January.

"We played Dungannon here five or six weeks ago and we’d three of the same starting side from that game while Dungannon had the same starting team, so it’s tough at the moment.

"I’ve relayed recently about navigating the next couple of weeks, trying to nurse boys through and get boys back fit.

"The fixtures haven’t been kind to us...Dungannon isn’t the team you want coming with 10 or 11 players out because they’ll exploit that and they did it today.

"The only shining light for me today was the performance of Josh Williamson. He was our best player at 17 years old.

"He was brave in taking the ball, tenacious, ran all day for us, worked all day for us and got an assist for Jordan Owens’ goal which was the one bit of quality we had.

"That was probably the only positive.”

ON INJURIES

"Robbie Weir is the latest one...he has been nursing that injury for a while and got a scan and will be out for another while yet.

"It was damage limitation. I’ve been flogging those boys and thankfully there were no knocks today, but it was an opportunity for me to get them off and rest their legs before Tuesday night.

"It was important to get them boys off and give some of the younger players a run.

"It’s a frustrating time and we’re having to persevere when things aren’t going our way, but it’s up to us to dig it out and we’re the only ones that can fix it – I’m sure we will.”

ON KIERAN OFFORD AND ANY UPDATE ON POTENTIAL RECALL TO ST MIRREN?

"Kieran is out with a hamstring injury at the moment.

"There’s no update at the minute. They have two or three weeks in January to recall him. Robbo (Stephen Robinson) was here to watch him the other night but he’s still out with the hamstring.

"At the minute there’s no news. For me it’s a no-brainer that Kieran stays for the rest of the season. He has been out on loan four times before and probably struggled for form, game time and it has never really worked for him, but this one has.

"At Kieran’s age it’s all about learning, development and playing as much as he can in a competitive league. I don’t want to keep him here – I want to push him onto bigger and better things, but for me it’s best that he stays for the rest of the season and finishes what he started.

"He has a great attitude, passionate, willing to learn and he has that will to win. With the amount of players that are out, you miss the experience and mentality on the pitch. It’s about navigating it until we get a few bodies back.”