St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson is demanding his players step up now – or else their season could be over by the end of the week.
After their disappointing defeat in Dingwall the Buddies head to Dens Park tomorrow night knowing a win is a must to keep pace in the top six race.
Another away trip follows on Saturday night, this time a crunch Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Hearts in the capital with a return to Hampden Park the prize for the winners.
Robinson is still waiting for his first win since taking over the reins in Paisley having lost his opening three games.
And he knows the next two matches will define the success - or otherwise - of the club’s current campaign.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Robinson said: “We’ve got good footballers and good players and we need them to step up.
“We need to step up together, myself included, and turn this last ten days around.
“I’ve told my boys in no uncertain terms my feelings on it.
“I’ve come into the club and gone with things and tried to cajole it along, but now we need to step up.
“They’re two huge games for us, otherwise we’ll be looking at building for next season after that.
“It’s important to keep this season alive, which we have the opportunity to do.
“We know as a group, staff included, it has to be better.
“Football changes quickly and if we get a result on Wednesday and then Saturday the whole season takes on a different look.”
St Mirren have struggled on the park since Jim Goodwin left to join Aberdeen, battling to a draw with Livingston while still managerless before suffering three consecutive defeats to Hearts, Celtic and Ross County.
Robinson admits Saturday’s loss to the Staggies was the toughest to take but is adamant his players haven’t got time to lick their wounds.
He said: “The first half there wasn’t much between the sides. There wasn’t a lot of quality in it.
“I thought we were passive in how we pressed and we didn’t pass the ball enough.
“Out of the three games this was the most disappointing one so far. I don’t think we started until we went a goal down.
“We didn’t really affect them. We had a lot of play in front of them but didn’t hurt them.
“We didn’t press as well as we can do and we didn’t pass the ball until we were a goal down.
“It wasn’t good enough.
“We have to accept that and stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got two massive games coming up this week
“We have to hold our hands up and say ‘we need to go again’.”
While Robinson hasn’t had a huge amount of time to work with his new squad at Ralston due to a combination of the Saints heavy fixture load and some stormy weather, he insists no-one can question his players’ dedication.
Robinson added: “Unfortunately we’ve only had three days really to work with the boys, with the snow and midweek games there were.
“Now it’s about trying to maximise what we’re getting out of them.
“They’re giving everything, I can’t question anyone’s commitment.
“We just need to add a bit more quality to that.”
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. Download here:smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
