Jack Ross has insisted he remains determined to solve Dundee United’s problems after suffering the “humiliation” of a 9-0 loss to Celtic at Tannadice.
Ross likened some of Celtic’s goals to training routines against dummies as United suffered their heaviest home defeat and biggest loss since a record 12-1 loss to Motherwell in 1954.
The beating continues a miserable start for Ross at Tannadice; his side have now lost five games in a row and conceded 23 goals in the last four to leave them bottom of the Premiership.
The former Alloa, St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibernian manager said: “It was humbling and embarrassing for me, personally and professionally, because of the pride you have in doing your job properly. The players must feel the same thing.
“We should never be beaten by this scoreline on any level and, for the football club’s fanbase, I know they will feel that way and the responsibility lies on my shoulders.
“We owe the fans an apology for the score and the way we conceded.
“And big aspects of the performance didn’t reflect the wearing of a shirt in professional football.”
Ross added that his “determination to remedy the situation will remain constant.”
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve worked consistently,” he added. “So when I talk about being humiliated and embarrassed, I want to address that.
“You have to be confident in your ability to manage through your previous experiences and the challenges I’ve overcome in my footballing and coaching career. It’s not in my character not to believe I can do it. , and not wanting to do it.
“It doesn’t matter what club I am at or at what level, I had the same desire to do well as a manager at Alloa as I do now.
“And because of the embarrassment and humiliation I feel right now, I absolutely want to address it.”
Ross vowed to protect his players but asked them to consider individually whether they had the ‘stomach and heart’ to make things right.
The 46-year-old admitted he was ‘puzzled’ over how serious things were but admitted his side were being too passive.
“We conceded goals that were akin to training drills against dummies,” he said.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou admitted his side had sought to take advantage of United’s vulnerability by starting strong and keeping the pressure on.
Kyogo Furuhashi scored a hat-trick in the first half, Liel Abada scored a hat-trick in the second half, and Jota, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt were also on target.
Postecoglou’s players looked like a team chasing the game at times as they pushed forward to chase more goals and recorded Celtic’s biggest away win.
“This is the team we want to be, it’s not just about the football we want to play,” he said.
“It’s a matter of intention and we don’t want to be led by the scoreboard or whatever the circumstances of the match.
“Whether it’s the first minute or the last minute or whether we win or not, we want to play at a certain pace and with a certain intensity.
“We want to work hard and make sure everyone contributes. It would have been very easy to walk away from that, it’s not just about winning a football game, it’s about setting our own standards within that.
Postecoglou admitted he was starting to feel for his counterpart as the goals piled up.
“I don’t think sympathy is the right word because we all know it’s a ruthless business,” he said.
“I don’t think Jack Ross needs my sympathy. I absolutely have a respect and understanding for the position he is in.
“I always told every manager that it was very difficult to know what they were dealing with or how they were doing it.
“No manager goes there to try and fail. Of course, there’s a part of you that stands apart and feels what the other is going through, because we’re all in the same kind of game.
