Seething St Ives Town boss Ricky Marheineke warned that repercussions will follow one of the worst performances of his managerial career.

Saints’ miserable Southern League Premier Division campaign took a turn for the worse when they were on the receiving end of a 6-0 hiding at Dorchester today.

Marheineke’s side fell behind eight minutes before half-time to the first of four goals from Mohammad Baghdadi. The same player hit a 16-minute hat-trick in the second half.

Saints also conceded to Billy Lowes six minutes after the restart and David Jerrard in stoppage time as they suffered a 17th and heaviest league defeat of the campaign.

It was a dismal display which drew a frank assessment from a manager pulling no punches.

“We were so, so poor,” said Marheineke. “That is as bad a performance as I’ve seen from a team I manage.

“We looked like we can’t defend and we had no goal threat as we failed to complete even the most simple of passes.

“We stayed in the game for a period, but Dorchester hit the post twice and had another effort cleared off the line when it was still goalless.

“I don’t want to say much at a time when I am very emotional and angry in the wake of a truly terrible performance.

“I’ve said my piece to the players. I’ll now sleep on it tonight and then decide where we go from here.

“I can’t keep making changes and bringing in new players. I want to stick with this group, but I can’t now ignore a performance that was so horrendous.

“There must be repercussions. Not one player can have the audacity to pick up the phone and ask me why they are not in the team next Saturday.

“We have a group who talk a brilliant game. They all know what’s going wrong and who’s at fault.

“They love to point fingers and lay blame, but none of them take responsibility on the pitch.

“We’ve played well and not won games recently. Today we saw what happens when we play badly.

“If we perform like that again, there is not a chance in hell of us catching the teams above us or climbing the table.”

Saints have the third poorest defensive record in the Premier Division having leaked 59 goals in 24 games. Only the two sides below them – Gosport Borough and Dunstable Town – have conceded more.

Marheineke’s side are also the joint third-lowest scorers in the section. They’ve barely managed a goal-per-game after hitting the net only 27 times.

On-loan winger Ben Baker saw a second-half effort ruled out for offside as he made his debut in the Saints starting line-up at Dorchester. Declan Rogers began his second spell at the club with an appearance from the bench while another new recruit, Luke Warner-Eley, was an unused substitute.

Saints’ re-arranged trip to Chesham on Tuesday night has been called off. That means their next outing is a crucial home clash against second-bottom Gosport next Saturday.