David Martindale issued an apology to Livingston fans following his side's Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The Lions put in their worst performance of the season as they were swept aside 3-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena as the Championship outfit booked a place in the quarter-finals.
A dull first-half, in which Lions striker Bruce Anderson hobbled off inside the opening 15 minutes, was followed by a clinical Caley display after the break.
Billy McKay opened the scoring with a wonderful finish on 52 minutes after pouncing on a long ball over the top before Sean Welsh saw his header roll over the line after bouncing off the post 10 minutes later.
The Premiership hosts offered little in reply and looked jittery all afternoon - especially defensively - and it was no real surprise when Caley bagged a third as McKay once again fired home from range to put the game beyond doubt.
Martindale heaped praise on their opponents but didn't shy away from criticising his own team's display as well as his own. He said: "I owe the fans an apology. We've no divine right to win that game of football but the manner of the way we lost - I'm not happy with that.
"I need to have a look at the team selection and the players on the park need to have a look at themselves but ultimately the buck stops with me. I've got to look at myself and have a period of reflection - as we all do as individuals.
"I don't expect to get beat 3-0 at home to anyone so I'm bitterly disappointed but I've got to take the criticism for that because it's me who puts the boys on the park. Did I get the team wrong? I must have, although I will say we missed Bruce Anderson after he went off."
He added: "I'm not happy with the manner of the defeat. There's ways to win games of football and ways to lose and that definitely wasn't a way to lose.
"It's bitterly disappointing but Inverness deserve huge credit. I think Billy and his players were fantastic on the day. We gave very cheap goals away but they were fantastic finishes from their point of view but our defending left a lot to be desired.
"I've been the underdog before when I've won games of football and all the focus has been on how bad the opposition was. Today we weren't at the races and didn't deserve to take anything from the game but Inverness did. I thought they played very, very well. They were the better team."
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here
