Dressing room bust-up nothing new for McManus

ANGRY noise spilled from the away dressing room in Cappielow as the last vestiges of Ian Baraclough’s Motherwell tenure fell apart. Sent spinning out of the League Cup by Morton, the recriminations were audible to those outside the firmly-shut door. Experienced defender Stephen McManus insists it was only right feelings were vented. While disappointed to see Baraclough axed, he is also long enough in the tooth to know the passionate postmortem was far from unique. ‘I’ve been in dressing rooms where I’ve seen grown men jump in cupboards because Bobo Balde had lost the plot,’ said the ex-Celtic centre-back. ‘When you don’t win matches, people care because their livelihoods are at stake. ‘There were a couple of things after the game which you’d expect because people care. It’s not anything people haven’t seen before. ‘There’s anger after every defeat. First and foremost, you always look individually: what else could I have done? ‘You’re going to have people who question things. You wouldn’t be happy in your work if you thought people weren’t pulling their weight. It’s just part and parcel of the game.’ Baraclough paid the price but owner Les Hutchison directed his anger at the players and said certain individuals should ‘hang their head in shame’. Stephen Craigan has been placed in interim charge for today’s visit of bottom club Partick Thistle, with McManus anxious to help deliver some positivity. ‘As players, we can’t speak highly enough of the way the manager conducted himself and how hard he worked but it’s a results business,’ said McManus. ‘It was difficult after Tuesday’s game but that’s the world we live in. But you need to dust yourself down and look forward to the next match. But, no matter how experienced you are, something like this still knocks you for six. ‘All we can do is give our all for Craggs (Craigan). We need to win games — it’s as simple as that. It’s been a hard time for the fans and the players are responsible for that.’