'About 60 per cent of Everton's players let down themselves and the fans,' he said. 'We were the First Division side, they were the Premiership side and, first and fore-most, they must show passion. They certainly didn't do that.
'They just fell apart. They resorted to the big ball up the middle and we coped easily. It was comfortable for us. I really couldn't believe how easy it was at times. It could and should have been more.'
It was a performance even more humiliating and demoralising for Everton than crashing out of the Worthington Cup to Second Division strugglers Bristol Rovers.
Everton's defence was unhinged by two headers from a player who readily dismisses his aerial ability as sub-standard. While Steve Yates was as taken aback as anyone, Walter Smith was equally bewildered by an Everton capitulation that left him facing calls for his head from a small, but vociferous, group of fans afterwards.
'I can assure everyone I will do my utmost to sort it out,' he said. 'Inconsistency is our biggest problem, not injuries, and it has to be put right before our situation gets any worse.'
Tranmere were granted two days off and may well need it, judging by defender Clint Hill's description of the mood among his team-mates.
'The celebrations are already under way in the dressing room, and we will be sinking a few more before the night is out,' he said. 'As a Liverpool fan, this has got to be the greatest day of my life.'
Once an initial spell of Everton pressure fizzled out, there was only one team in it. Yates's looping 22nd-minute header and a spectacular finish from the impressive Jason Koumas 13 minutes later confirmed as much.
Smith's side were a shambles and could have no complaints about conceding a third goal in the 62nd minute as Yates was allowed to meet a Koumas corner with an unchallenged header.
