Derek Adams APOLOGISES to rattled Ross County players but defends comments amid 'disrespectful' backlash

Derek Adams told how he apologised to Ross County’s players at training on Monday for saying Morecambe were 100 times better than them.

But the Ross County boss, addressing a furore that drew reaction throughout Scottish football, stood by his right to call out the “shocking” standards he had witnessed in five games since his return from England last month. Adams confessed to a squad “disappointed” by his comments over his claim his former club were way better than his current squad following defeat to Dundee.

And hinting there had been a stormy meeting with players as they regrouped at the stadium, Adams said: “It has obviously been a difficult weekend and couple of days, which is my fault because I gave an opinion. We have to get over that and get moving forward now. I have apologised to the players for that (Morecombe comment). It was wrong of me to say that. I spoke about the situation in relation to the games I have seen since coming back to Scotland. All I commented on was about the five games I’ve witnessed.

“We’re all entitled to our opinion. Sometimes when you give your opinion and it goes against the grain or against what everybody else thinks, then it becomes an issue. I’ll probably rethink things and not give an opinion and then the column inches will be a wee bit smaller from now on. The players were disappointed because of what I said about my former employers (Morecambe). We’ve got to get the best players out here on the pitch, performing week-in, week-out. It is up to us to then look at it and be on top form. We need to be performing better.”

The Saturday evening comments from Adams have been attacked by some pundits and personnel at other clubs as “disrespectful”, one even claiming he should be sacked.