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Jim Magilton offered an apology to Cliftonville supporters not only for yesterday’s defeat to Carrick Rangers, but also for his side’s general form in recent times.

The Reds travelled to Taylors Avenue in the hope of getting back to winning ways in the Sports Direct Premiership but goals in either half from Danny Gibson and Seanan Clucas were enough to end the hosts’ lengthy losing run, leaving Magilton to reflect on a lacklustre performance from his team.

“We lost 2-0 in a whimper and I’m very disappointed to say the least – Carrick didn’t have to work very hard for their goals,” he reflected.

“We came here knowing we’d probably have a lot of the ball but it’s what we do with the ball that’s more important. We didn’t play with any real purpose, their keeper didn’t really have to make any saves and there are too many of these games that are just going by.

“It’s disappointing for our fans and I have to apologise to them because we didn’t do enough and we haven’t done enough in recent weeks, and I take full responsibility because I’m responsible for bringing these lads into the Club.”

On how Cliftonville wnt about their business in the 90 minutes, he added: “It was a wing and a prayer, hoping something might happen, and that’s just not the way we operate, it’s not the way we set out to play, but we didn’t create any worthwhile chance.

“The only people who can get us out of this are the players and the staff and we have to work harder now.

“It’s easy when you’re winning. We were winning last year and everything was free flowing and everybody wanted the ball. Now it’s even more important that they continue to want the ball and play with more determination to keep the ball out of our net – that’s the game in a nutshell and we’re not playing with enough aggression with or without the ball.

“This is a character building exercise now and the dressing room have to sort that out. We can vent and show our frustration, which we do, but we still have to get a reaction out of the players and Tuesday night becomes massively important to us.”