Inverness Caley Thistle manaer Billy Dodds says: "I could see the life drain out of my players in front of me" in defeat to Hamilton Academical
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HEAD coach Billy Dodds says he saw the life drain out of his players right in front of him as Caley Thistle were beaten 3-0 by Hamilton Academical yesterday.
The boss says his team were left floored after conceding the first goal early in the second half before Hamilton scored twice more late on to claim victory.
Hamilton are still bottom of the Championship, but have beaten Inverness in all three matches this season, twice in the league as well as their win in the Trust Trophy.
Dodds says his team were guilty of leaving themselves open which he said resulted in their defeat.
He said: “I thought we got ourselves to a stage in the game where we were chasing and then leave ourselves open.
“It has floored me and it has floored them.
“I can see it happening right in front of them.
Again, Accies have done us and we knew what they would do.
“I thought they were really good for 25 minutes to half an hour today and then we started forcing things, which allowed them to get a few passes moving and create a couple of openings.
“At half-time I asked them to show patience but told them not to switch off.
“We knew what Accies could do and we don’t have a great record against them. Low and behold, they are slack again and give the ball away for the opener.
“I could then see the life drain out of my players in front of me."
The defeat has left Inverness Caledonian Thistle in seventh place, five points off the play-off zone with 12 games remaining.
Dodds says defensively they have not been good enough and needs to improve urgently to save their promotion dream.
He says that needs to start at Hamilton on Tuesday night.
He said: “We’ve got to be better at home and we’ve got to handle the ball better, like we did for half an hour.
“We then started getting back into old habits and we stopped getting into areas where we could hurt them.
“We tried to force it through the middle.
“I think we were unlucky in the first half, but you need to be better and have that concentration for 90 minutes.
“The last five goals we’ve given away, at such a crucial time in the season and of the game, is just soul-destroying - for my players and for my staff.
“That’s where we’re at. We have to be better at home, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we go there on Tuesday and put up a much better performance.”
