RAGING Marvin Bartley blasted his Queen of the South stars after they slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Kelty Hearts.
And he’s blamed mammoth GAMING sessions for adding to their current woes.
Bartley’s Doonhamers are currently on a dreadful run of form.
They’ve won just one of their last ten matches with eight defeats during that period.
The run has left them third-bottom of League One, just four points clear of bottom club Edinburgh City.
A Jason Thomson own goal had given Queen of the South the lead against Kelty, but the Fife club fought back to secure what was, in the end, a comfortable win.
Bartley couldn’t hide his frustrations post match as he took aim at his players.
He’s questioned his squad’s professionalism after he was stunned to learn many of them are spending up to EIGHT HOURS in front of their Xbox and PlayStation consoles in the lead-up to crunch matches.
And it’s something Bartley is struggling to understand.
The former Livingston and Hibs ace revealed how he was trying to get to the bottom of what was going on with regards below-par performances – and was left shocked when he found out about the gaming habits.
Bartley said: “I’ve been there and I’ve been a professional footballer. Professional is a very interesting word.
“I’ve protected people for far too long. Far too long when I’m seeing things happen at points this season. Flatness in games at times and I’m wondering what’s going on?
“So much so that I’ve gone and reviewed every session that we’ve done since I came to this football club. I understand that people go outside of here but I need them to then be professional in what they’re doing because the sessions are set up as if they’re going to go and rest. Get their adequate rest and hydration in and eat at the right times.
“But I’ve got far too many players pulling out through tightness. So it’s meant I’ve had to go outside and look into why this is happening.
“I’ve said to players if you want to coach, go and do that Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, not in the latter stages of the week. Then I find out players are doing that.
“I find out the players are on their computers for eight hours leading into matches. I’ve had to go and pay to speak to someone to say this is what’s happening to my players. It’s only this week they came back with: ‘They’re gaming.’
“I was like: ‘They play games in training,’ I thought he meant that but no, they play on their Xboxes and PlayStations. I speak to boys and they’re spending, six, seven hours sat in one position, eyes fixed – glued – to a TV.
“Then they’re trying to go and play a match the next day. And you’re wondering why you can’t concentrate? Come on.”
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