St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari has vowed he won't resort to "safe football" after his side fell to a 1-0 defeat against Rangers.
The Finnish coach reckons the best chance to achieve results at the Perth club is to be on the front foot, and he won't be deterred from his strategy after the narrow loss at McDiarmid Park.
Valakari - whose side sit ninth in the Scottish Premiership - showed his attacking impetus with a front two against Rangers but felt it was in the crucial final third where they came up short.
"As we saw, and I think as well, the club, the team, my staff, my personality, we want to attack," said Valakari. "We want to attack, because we know if we start playing safe football, we cannot compete.
"We cannot compete. So we need to attack. But then with the attacking, as we have been doing now, we are starting defending more compact, more collectively.
"We look pretty okay when we defend. So now it's just to turn these defensive moments even more attacking. But yes, we need to attack. We need to be brave. We need to be on the front foot."
While disappointed with the result, Valakari had no question marks over the commitment of his players as he pinpointed the need for clarity in the crucial moments in attack.
"Of course, the result is not what we wanted," he said. "About the performance, again, it was a little bit where we are with our team at this moment .
"There were a lot of promising moments, there was a lot of heart and soul - there was the maximum heart and soul there.
"But then some moments, the decision-making, the final ball -maybe the calmness in the final passes - it's not there yet. But that's pretty logical.
"We wanted to stay in this match, compete until the end, and we did it. But to push this final five minutes, we were a little bit out of energy.
"Overall, there were no surprises from our players. I know what they are capable of doing. I know what we need to improve. And that's what we are working so hard every day."
