WHAT THE MANAGER SAID: 'Our worst performance' - Stephen Baxter frustrated as Carrick lose to bottom-based Glenavon

Jack Malone’s free-kick finish proved decisive as Michael O’Connor celebrated a perfect start to life as Glenavon boss.

Here’s the verdict of Carrick manager Baxter, who marked 1,000 games as boss in Irish League football earlier in the week:

OVERALL PERFORMANCE...

"It was a poor game of football.

"There was that high wind so balls running away, balls holding up...always difficult to play.

"Players tend to just try to hook balls on.

"One chance has won this game with a free-kick...it was a great free-kick you have to say - but that was the one moment in the game.

"There were no other chances of any significance in this game here today from either team.

"So that's the disappointment for me...that we have not put them under enough pressure in this game, any sustained pressure that would have penetrated them.

"And that's not like us, because in every game this season we've been on top for periods where we've looked like we will get a goal and we've been threatening and got goals.

"We didn't look like we would've scored if we'd been playing for a fortnight here today.”

DISJOINTED CARRICK...

"And that's the disappointment for me...just that lack of penetration to get into the box to score the goal that would have got you something from the game.

"Just not good enough from us today and I just felt like we probably lost that little bit of physical battle in the game.

"I felt we had a bit more of it the first 20, 25 minutes but it was all very edgy.

"Glenavon fighting for their lives so, fair play to them, they got their goal and dug in.

"When you're in their position it's a big thing.

"That's football, it's a very competitive league and everyone's fighting for points."

MICHAEL O’CONNOR’S FIRST GAME AT GLENAVON...

"It's always difficult when you come in with a new manager in his first game really - I know they played during the week (Mid-Ulster Senior Cup) but this was really the big game, wasn't it?

"You don't know what you're going to get in shape or personnel as a new manager wants to put his stamp on things.

"It was a game you would want to forget very quickly, there wasn't a lot of football played in it and disappointing from us.

"I feel we just didn't do enough in the game.

"I said that to the team afterwards that I always look to go out and defend (the side)...we were great at other places and didn't get anything from a game.

"However, we didn't deserve anything from today's game…that's a fact, we weren't good enough.”

EFFORTS TO TURN IT AROUND...

"We were trying three or four different shapes, we were writing shapes down from 15 minutes in the second half, trying to do something different, trying to change the flow of the game.

"And there was nothing.

"There was no switch of penetration that we were able to drive into certain areas and really hurt them, no sustained pressure.

"It didn't happen and that's it, you've got to hold your hand up...for me, it was our worst performance of this season.

"In football, no matter what the game, when you lose you pinpoint what you think went wrong.

"Then you have to very quickly assess what your players are doing, what you've got out of people and if you need to think of making changes, you do it.

"And then you have to always then prepare for the next game and that's the cycle of football.

"You have to try and get into a way of changing the narrative all the time.

"We've been doing it a long time, so I've seen it all a few times...we'll just get on with it.”