Sauzee brands players ‘frauds’

WHILE the proud Ayr United manager Gordon Dalziel referred to his players as “heroes” after taking their club to a first ever major final, his opposite number Franck Sauzee reflected on one of his lowest moments in football, and branded his under-achieving players frauds.

“I have international players in this team, but where are they?” the Hibs manager asked having seen his team deservedly beaten by their First Division opponents. The Frenchman, who only took over in December, also referred to his side as a “ghost team” after he watched them create only two goalscoring opportunities throughout the entire 120 minutes’ worth of play at Hampden Park last night. They have won only once, against Stranraer, since Sauzee took charge.

The Hibs manager refused to criticise the referee for the controversial extra-time penalty award that lost his side the game. Eddie Annand, who converted the spot kick, was booked in the second half after a foul on Alen Orman. He will now miss the final after collecting two cautions in the competition, something his manager described as “heartbreaking”.

Anger rather than regret was the emotion firing Sauzee, however. The Frenchman ordered his players to have a long hard look at themselves, and asked if they were truly good enough to represent the club.

“If I was one of those players I would ask myself if I was good enough to play in the SPL,” he said. He further castigated them by comparing their performance to that of Ayr captain John Hughes, a fervent Hibs fan. “There was a 38 year old player out there, and I watched him win all the battles,” he raged. “Where is their self-esteem? I cannot accept how we lost tonight.”

Asked about the extra-time penalty decision, he simply tossed the question aside. “That was not the problem,” he replied, dismissively. “I don’t care about that. We did not deserve to win. We did nothing tonight. How many chances did we create? Two, and they came at the start of the game.”

He said their improved weekend performance against Celtic, in a 1-1 draw at Easter Road, now meant nothing. “In football you must be up for every game, not just one game. Maybe they think it is enough to play against Rangers, Celtic and Hearts in the derby. But in the league we are second from bottom. That means we are not doing very well. We did well against Celtic, maybe. But tonight? I did not see one player on the pitch.”

Annand, who once sold pies at Ibrox, was full of sorrow at being robbed of the opportunity to face Rangers, his boyhood heroes, next month. “I am obviously happy for the boys, but on a personal note I am gutted to miss the final, especially as it is against the team I watch as often as I can,” he said.

Dalziel was disappointed for his striker but nothing could take the shine off the occasion for a man who has been the subject of terracing abuse as a result of his side’s less than startling league form.

The Ayr manager admitted that the penalty award had been fortuitous, saying: “You require such breaks to be successful. At the start we were a wee bit nervous, but when we went in at 0-0 for half-time I told the players to relax, and we got a wee break for the penalty.”

He called match-winner Annand his “main man”, adding: “It’s heartbreaking for him to miss the final, but he played his part. I’ll have a wee chat with him next month when they all return to training!

Taken from the Scotsman