Clachnacuddin striker Ian Penwright says the Lilywhites’ players take full responsibility for the resignation of manager Iain Polworth.
Polworth opted to end his 10-year reign as Grant Street Park boss earlier this week, following a poor start to the campaign which has brought just one league victory from the opening eight matches, leaving them 16th in the table.
Following the 4-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Rothes on Saturday, Polworth addressed his players at training on Monday to inform them of his decision, however Penwright feels he and his team-mates have let the 50-year-old down.
Penwright said: “We just have to knuckle down and get on with it – we have not been good enough.
“It’s our fault the manager has left, we blame ourselves. The squad is definitely good enough to be beating teams like Rothes at the weekend.
“We have all had a word with each other. Even if it’s not going our way, we need to put the work in because some boys really haven’t, they have just been letting the game go by them.
“It’s not good enough at all, so all we can do is work as hard as possible and hopefully it will all gel together. It’s too late for Iain now though, which is not great.
“We don’t know what’s happening next, so hopefully that will be sorted out as soon as possible once the chairman Alex Chisholm comes back from holiday.”
Penwright, who has had a succession of knee problems in recent seasons, insists he owes a personal debt of gratitude to Polworth, adding: “Monday night was really hard, he came in and wanted to speak to us first. He told us what was happening and that was him, off he went. I think everyone was gutted, it was a horrible feeling.
“He has been really good to everyone, but particularly through all my injuries he has been superb. He checked up on me all the time, doing anything he could.
“I have appreciated everything and I gave him a text message to thank him. He has been there 10 or 11 years and had a close bond with all the players.”
Penwright has urged his side to show a strong reaction when they face Rothes once again on league duty on Saturday, with the 29-year-old adding: “We have got off to a really bad start in the league – we need to try and get up that table. I think we are a top 10 team, without a doubt, but we have just not been at the races at all.”