Mark Connolly says there's no hiding places for Derry City players after Inchicore bombshell

​The City players were engaged in a walk of football shame from the away dressing room at Richmond Park as they made their way up the steps of the main stand and onto the team coach after some stern words from boss Ruaidhri Higgins and assistant coach Paddy McLaughlin, who urged them to examine their own individual displays.

"As individuals and as a team we need to be better," said Connolly. "The first thing you have to do is look at yourself and the manager and Paddy said in the dressing room, we need to look at ourselves at how we'vebeen performing and what we're doing in training and ask 'can we be better?'

"That's where it all starts and then hopefully that will run through the team and hopefully we can bounce back."

The defender accepted his own responsibility for his part in the abject display and in particular his role in the Saints' second goal where he was caught out by Eoin Doyle when attempting to play a high line.

It was Connolly's second game in four days after three months out with a hamstring injury so he can be forgiven for struggling with the demands of a hectic schedule.

He's rated doubtful for tonight's visit of Bohemians as he's carrying a knock. However, the former Dundee United man wasn't ever going to shy away from criticism and claimed it was time for action rather than for idle words.

"It wasn't good enough," he stated bluntly. "Myself for the second goal especially, not good enough! It's just a long punt down the pitch and I should probably have dropped instead of playing a high line and he's in. It's a bad decision from myself.

"I'm big and ugly enough to say when things went right and that was my fault and I have no problem putting my hands up for that. I won't hideaway. The criticism has to come, I’m big enough to take it. Not for the standards I set myself, it wasn't good enough.

"All you can do is make sure you put it right. There's no point talking about it, you just have to put it right. The standards we've set, the way we've been, first goal centre-half running through and shooting from there. The second goal, simple ball over the top, just not like us but we're not accepting that.

"I'm certainly not accepting my performance. We just need to roll our sleeves up. There's no hiding places. No point in feeling sorry for ourselves. We're big and ugly enough to deal with situations and what comes ahead but we know that wasn't good enough."

Optimism is beginning to fade after a three match winless run and they face another test of their mental strength when an out-of-sorts Bohs roll into town.

Connolly is confident Derry can bounce back from that bombshell in Inchicore and welcomes the quick turnaround.

"The games come thick and fast. We played on Friday, we played again on Monday and play again on Friday. "There's no time to wait and feel sorry for ourselves. We need to lick our wounds and get going."