"We can cite injuries, we can cite a bobbly pitch, we can cite chances that we missed but in the end they're excuses, not reasons and we didn't do enough today to win the game," he added.
"There are not many people in the real world that can guarantee their money six months in advance. All of these players get paid for the foreseeable future and they get paid to do a job.
"I really wanted to show everybody that we mean business for next year, at the moment it's just words."