I think this statement is 100% nailed on correct. The points deduction, coming when it did, killed the season dead in it's tracks. Players, fans, interim manager and future manager til end of season knew the writing was on the wall.
Had the pts deduction been made at the start of the season then I think it would have been quite different. Or even at the end of the season when all was said and done and we totalled xx points -6.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, mind you. And we don't have any of it!