Stephen Robinson is loath to allow a contentious penalty decision dominate the narrative after his side fell to a narrow defeat against Hearts.
The St Mirren boss hailed his makeshift squad after a battling performance at Tynecastle in which they were left questioning how they managed to leave the capital without at least a point.
Robinson – who branded the performance his side’s best of the season so far – did however admit he was left bemused at the lack of spot-kick award for his side.
There were major appeals for a penalty in the closing stages as Kye Rowles was under the spotlight over a possible handball. Ref David Munro waved play on and was not asked to check the decision on the pitchside monitor with VAR backing the on-field decision.
For Robinson is was a stunning call as he bemoaned another decision to book Keanu Baccus for an adjudged foul on Robert Snodgrass with replays suggesting any contact at all was minimal.
“I’ve been told it’s a penalty,” said Robinson. “I’ve been told it is very similar to penalties that have been given against us. All we want is a bit of clarity, it’s not the referee’s fault. You have got other people sitting there watching and they are not calling the referee over.
“In the last four weeks some of the penalties given I find incredible, I find the handball rule incredible I have stated that all along so it is not just against my team.
“It’s unfortunate that it is going to dominate a game where we were superb.”
He added: “Keanu Baccus’ yellow card is incredible, that’s incredible. It’s a yard away from the ball and it means he's walking a tightrope the whole of the rest of the game. It’s frustrating.
“It’s hard to take, sometimes in life you don’t get everything you deserve and I think that’s the case tonight.”
In a candid post-match press conference, Robinson went on to brand the state-of-affairs on VAR decisions as “soul-destroying” as he admitted his own confusion over what handball decisions are actually going to be checked at the pitchside screen.
“I don’t know. I genuinely have no idea what is going on half the time now,” said Robinson. “Sometimes I don’t even argue now because you think I’m not actually sure what has gone on – there’s no point.
“It’s actually soul-destroying at times because you think what are they going to look at and what aren’t they going to look at. The handball rule is not the officials fault by the way, it’s a rule that there is no understanding of it from any of us, all the managers feel the same.
“Some of the penalties that should have been given or have been given in the last four weeks, not against me so not a gripe on my team, it’s very difficult to take.”
While the result left a sour taste in the mouth of the Buddies boss, Robinson was thrilled with the performance levels from his side in both matches against Hearts.
The Saints took a point in Paisley just six days before the loss in Edinburgh.
Robinson explained: “I thought our performance was terrific, we deserved a minimum of a point out of that game. I thought it was our best 90 minutes.
“To have two games against a team of that calibre and talent and signings that they have been able to make…one point out of it is devastating for me because the boys deserve so much more.
“We’re down to the bare bones of a squad, we’re bringing 17-year-old kids on and we’re matching Hearts, if not bettering them.”
St Mirren midfielder Mark O’Hara was forced off in the defeat at Tynecastle after just 30 minutes, but it’s hoped he could return to face Celtic in midweek.
“To lose one of my most influential players was tough, especially that early in the game but how good was Greg Kiltie when he came on? Credit to him,” Robinson said.
“Mark we will assess and just hope that we can roll him back out for Celtic Park, it’s very early to call.
“We’ve got a squad of about 14 or 15 first-team players we can call on and then you’ve seen the kids on the bench. They’re good kids, (but) they’re not ready for first-team football yet.”
