'Worst performance of this season' no way to follow up 1,000 milestone for legendary Irish League manager
Having celebrated 1,000 games in management midweek, Stephen Baxter followed that magic milestone on Saturday suffering Carrick’s “worst performance of this season”.
Life for that long in an Irish League dug-out comes, of course, with a sense of hard-earned perspective and Baxter accepted the 1-0 loss to a Glenavon side having failed to pick up a point in the previous 11 Premiership encounters as “that’s football”.
However, there was little brief about his level of frustration over an afternoon at Mourneview Park in which Carrick “didn't look like we would've scored if we'd been playing for a fortnight”.
Jack Malone’s fine free-kick proved decisive to give Glenavon a long-awaited welcome win and perfect start to life as a league boss for recently-appointed Michael O’Connor.
With the landmark result putting Glenavon in the spotlight for all the right reasons for the first time in the current campaign, Baxter opted to focus on the failure of his players.
He offered a simple but significant analysis of “for me, it was our worst performance of this season” within a more detailed breakdown.
"It was a poor game of football,” said Baxter. "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.
"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."
Baxter made clear the uncertainty of facing a rival manager in his first match should not be viewed as any excuse – but did accept it offered different challenges.
"It's always difficult when you come in with a new manager in his first game really,” said Baxter. “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."
He added: "However, we didn't deserve anything from today's game…that's a fact, we weren't good enough.
"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.
"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.
"It didn't happen and that's it, you've got to hold your hands up."