FRASER DUNCAN blasted his players' attitude after Sauchie crashed out of the Fife and Lothians Cup at the hands of Thornton Hibs.

The manager pulled no punches as he questioned his side's lack of desire to win the tie.

And he claimed the performance was as bad as he has seen from the Wee County outfit in a long time.

Duncan told Advertiser Sport: "It was a massive disappointment. We just didn't turn up and we were very, very poor. It's the worst I've seen us for a long time.

"We completely underestimated them and just couldn't get ourselves moving the whole day.

"The players probably have thought they can take their foot off the gas because it's only a Fife and Lothians Cup game or because they were playing against a team from a lower division. But they have been brought back to earth quickly and sharply.

"We had Craig Comrie and Terry Hewitt out with knocks. I thought it was an ideal opportunity to give them a bit of recuperation time, but it's backfired on us. We severely lacked any drive or determination in the whole team.

"Taking nothing away from Thornton Hibs, they came with a gameplan and worked hard for the win. But we never laid a glove on them all afternoon which shows just how bad we were."

Duncan warned his squad to step up their game in the coming weeks and warned that they will be in danger of slipping out of the Super League if they fail to improve against Jeanfield Swifts on Saturday.

He said: "We can dream all we want about making Scottish Cup quarter finals, but if we play like that again we won't do anything.

"The second half of the season is going to be very difficult if we keep playing like that.

"The only way we can make up for it is by winning the next two games. Saturday is a six-pointer. The players have been told in no uncertain terms that three points is a must. If we don't get a good reaction we are in trouble."

Meanwhile, the manager has added wide midfielder William Wells from Cumbernauld United for the rest of the season and says he is looking to boost his squad further in the coming days.

Duncan added: "We've signed William who's a left-sided midfielder, and to be fair to him, he came on on Saturday and did well.

"We are still talking to two or three players and are looking to add one or two by the end of the week. But it just depends whether the right players become available."