Alex Greive insists his Buddies are determined not to let their promising Premiership campaign go to waste.
And he admits St Mirren can’t afford to keep starting games slowly as they look to come out on the winning side in the race for a top-six finish.
Much like their away defeat to Motherwell last month, the Saints gave themselves an uphill battle at Tannadice when Steven Fletcher slammed home the opener within just three minutes.
While the Paisley club found a way back into the eventful clash through Mark O’Hara’s second half penalty, Greive believes he and his team-mates must work on getting out of the blocks quicker with just four crucial games remaining before the split.
Greive, who was inches away from netting a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game, told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was a tough shift up front. From the 21st minute onwards we dominated the game and probably deserved a lot more.
“We can’t start games like that because it just gives you such an uphill battle.
“I’m not sure why it’s happened a few times recently but it’s something we can work on. We just have to try and sort it out and start games better, because we were doing that fine earlier in the season.
“I did catch that late chance really well. I should have hit the target. I think I almost caught it too well.
“We’re very determined to finish in the top six. We’ve still got a couple of players who were here a few years ago when they missed out on goal difference.
“We’re all working hard towards it because we don’t want that to happen again.
“It would be a shame for the chance to go to waste now after such a good season.”
Greive will jet back to New Zealand early this week as he looks to add to his international goal tally over the upcoming break.
His Aussie Buddie Keanu Baccus will also be on duty for his country, with Greive confident he’ll be fit and firing to go for St Mirren’s crunch clash with Livingston on Saturday, April 1.
Greive said: “I always look forward to international breaks because I love playing for New Zealand. It’s a good chance to get home and play in front of friends and family. I’m buzzing for it, to be honest.
“You’ve just got to make sure you do all the right things, hydrating and eating the right food. I’m pretty used to all the travelling now so I don’t think it affects me that much.
“I arrive back on the Tuesday before the Livi game so I’ve got plenty of time to recover and go again.
“Keanu went away with Australia at the World Cup and did amazingly well. It shows we’ve got some real quality players and we’ve got our focus on getting into that top six, because we know we’ve got the players capable of achieving that.”
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