Carluke Rovers boss Mark Weir hits out at players for "shambles" leading to 7-0 loss

Mark Weir, first from left, played for Rovers for 20 years before his final campaign last season (Library pic by Kevin Ramage)

Trailing only 1-0 at half-time in a West of Scotland League Conference B clash at John Cumming Stadium, Rovers then capitulated after the interval, with minimal resistence given in a performance gaffer Weir said was among the worst he can remember in over 20 years with Rovers also including two decades as a player.

“It was a sore one,” Weir told the Carluke and Lanark Gazette. “I’ve been at the Rovers 20 years alone and it’s probably one of the worst performances from a Carluke Rovers team in all that time.

“I don’t mind getting beat one, two, seven-nil as long as the team gives you that 110% effort, but when there’s no effort, questions have to be asked, yet the first-half performance was good, really good in fact.

“We were unlucky to go in 1-0 down. Lewis Hill had a great chance to equalise with the last kick of the ball in the first half.

“And then the second goal goes in two minutes into the second half and the heads go down and it went from bad to worse.

“The second half was unacceptable. It’s as if they totally lost interest.

“There was nothing there second half. It was as if they weren’t wanting to be there at times.

“As soon as that second goal went in, they chucked it. There’s no other words you can use to describe it – very poor.

“We seem to be a one-half team, in whatever half we’re good, the other half we’re poor.

“We’re a 45-minute team at the moment. Why that is I honestly don’t know.”

While Rovers floundered in the second half, their Glaswegian visitors were very impressive.

Weir said: “St Cadoc’s are one of the best teams that we’ve played this season.

“From what I saw on Saturday, I think they’ll go a long way to be up there at the top end of the table.

“We more than matched them in the first half, but that second half from us was shambolic.”

Saturday’s defeat leaves Rovers ninth in the table with four points from six matches.

Weir says he is looking for “a massive reaction” from Rovers players on their return to league duties at Neilston this Saturday, their final competitive game of 2020.

The Rovers gaffer has completed the permanent signing of ex-Dumbarton captain Garry Fleming until the end of the season.

He added: “Gary is a great signing, a massive signing for the club, so I’m looking for him to come in and steady the ship and organise on the park.

“There doesn’t seem to be anybody willing to take command when they’re on the park.

“He never played against St Cadoc’s as he still had a suspension from last season.

“As of now, Garry is available and I can tell you he will be starting on Saturday, no question.”

Also bolstering Rovers’ ranks is former Lanark United striker Hill, signed up until the end of the 2020-21 campaign too.