Despite pledging his support for manager Wilfried Nancy, striker Johnny Kenny has admitted that St Mirren 'exploited' Celtic at Hampden last Sunday.
The Republic of Ireland forward, who started the game on the bench, was called upon by his manager, following Kelechi Iheanacho's hamstring injury in the first half.
However, despite an equaliser from Reo Hatate, the holders would relinquish the Premier Sports Cup to Stephen Robinson's side, whom Kenny praised highly in his pre-Dundee United press conference.
"I think St Mirren deserve a lot of credit," the striker said. "They came into the game and they were very good - they deserved to win.
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"But maybe we were a bit disjointed in the second half, but ultimately that's football, and at times it just always doesn't go your way, but as I said, I think St Mirren deserved the trophy.
When pressed by a reporter on what he meant by the term 'disjointed', Kenny added, "I just think sometimes we were just out of position at times, and we got exploited.
"However, we have got big leaders in the dressing room, and this club is built on success, so losing games isn't natural, but we all keep together and focus on the next game, and that's why this club's been so successful."
Next up for Celtic is a trip to Tannadice to face Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. This match was originally due to take place in November, though it had to be moved due to Celtic's participation in the Premier Sports Cup.
Kick-off is at 7.45 pm on Wednesday night.
