DAN PHILLIPS reckons St Johnstone's struggles since the World Cup break have helped build the character that will see them through the remainder of the campaign.
The Saints have picked up just three Premiership points - earned in their win over Ross County before Christmas - since they returned to action last month.
A 2-0 defeat to Rangers was their latest setback on Saturday and Michael Beale's side also ended their Scottish Cup campaign with victory at McDiarmid Park.
Nicky Clark's first half red card was a blow they couldn't recover from but Phillips believes there were positives to take as Davidson's side look to turn their performances into results during a crucial run of Premiership fixtures.
Phillips said: "I think we come out of it disappointed because for 60 minutes we’ve gone toe to toe with Rangers with 10 men and we’ve battled really well.
"We’re disappointed with the result but we’re proud of the performance and he energy we put in. The performance we have was miles apart to the last one here in the summer.
"We took he game to them and got on the ball a lot. We were very confident and positive with possession and in our intent.
"Even with 10 men you could see that we wanted to go out and attack rather than sit back and soak up pressure.
"I feel like it’s night and day for me personally. I feel much better and fitter when I’m on the pitch – like I can move ad get around and get on the ball. Hopefully I'll just keep paying and stay fit.
"We only take it one game at a time. We always believe we can go out and get a result.
"But it’s been a tough month definitely and for us we are just focused on the next game. I’d say it’s been a character building month.
"You can see from where we started to month to now, he results may not show it but the performances show there has been a lot of growth and development.We’re trying to go on the right direction."
