LISTEN: McIntyre demands a response in Dingwall from the deposed champions
Cove Rangers head north for the final round of Group D matches following Ross County's "really poor defence of the cup"
Jim McIntyre has been frank in his assessment of Ross County's performance at Alloa, having relinquished their League Cup title just four months on from their Hampden heroics against Hibs.
The 3-2 scoreline will have been hard to take for many County fans, but McIntyre's said they have done their analysis of the 3-2 defeat.
"We've got to move on from it, but we'll certainly learn from it"
"The most disappointing thing is that we're masters of our own downfall with the mistakes that we made"
"That said you have to give Alloa credit, they showed good quality in the final third, but key decisions went their way also"
"Overall, our first half performance was inept, very poor, and put simply that's why we're out of the League Cup"
County's stuttering start to the season has seen them narrowly beat League Two Montrose, draw with Raith Rovers (losing on penalties) and now Tuesday's performance at Alloa.
McIntyre believes that although progress has been slow it's understandable why they've been sluggish.
"We showed a lot of good signs going forward, but again you've got to put it in the net"
"We are creating more-and-more as we go through the games so I feel it's just a case of fine-tuning"
"There'll obviously be a few changes, we need to get game-time into players, we've not been able to do that because of the cup format"
"Some are lacking in time on the pitch, but at the same time we need that reaction, to show how much we're hurting"
"We've given a really poor defence of the cup as champions, and that really sticks, we've all got to take that one on the chin and respond"
County now look ahead to their final Group D match as they host Highland League Cove Rangers:-