Blokhin slams players after Spain humbling

LEIPZIG, June 14 (Reuters) Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin gave his players a tongue-lashing after their 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Spain today, saying they had let down the fans in their World Cup debut.

''It's scandalous to lose 4-0 and at times we were playing like the worst team in Europe,'' the bullish former Soviet Union striker said in typically blunt fashion.

''The players didn't respect the instructions given to them,'' he added. ''I'm not sad because of the score....I'm sorry for the fans.'' Ukraine were the first European team to qualify for Germany but their opening match went from bad to worse as the impressive Spaniards raced into a 2-0 lead within the first 17 minutes.

They had defender Vladislav Vashchyuk sent off early in the second half, going 3-0 down from the ensuing penalty.

Ukraine captain and 2004 European footballer of the year Andriy Shevchenko hardly featured.

Shevchenko had been suffering from a knee injury and Blokhin left a decision on whether to play his top striker until the last minute.

''In football you win some, you lose some. But certainly if you lose 4-0 then you are doing something wrong,'' Shevchenko told reporters.

''We need to work on our defence and I think if we can sort that out then we can start winning again.'' Shevchenko said it had been important for him to play 90 minutes and he was ready for Ukraine's final two Group H matches against Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

''I'm feeling good physically again now. It's hard when you haven't played for a while to get into shape but if you want to get in shape you have to play.'' Blokhin said the players had to put the defeat behind them and look ahead to the next matches.

''All is not lost yet, there's still a long way to go,'' he said.

''The key thing now is to get the players' morale back up.'' Reuters SY GC2342