Stephen Robinson insists St Mirren need to make their point if they can’t win all three after Dundee’s success in Paisley yesterday.
A brace from Simon Murray either side of Toyosi Olusanya’s eighth goal of the campaign earned the Dark Blues a 2-1 victory.
Buddies boss Robbo admitted his side just weren’t good enough defensively in the moments that mattered while attacking moves lacked a cutting edge.
And the Northern Irishman knows his talented team must begin to grind it out rather than lose hard-fought contests.
He said: “I didn’t think there was a whole lot in the game. Dundee were very direct and played to the conditions. Credit to them – they delivered crosses into our box and constantly tested us.
“But we’re really disappointed with the two goals we conceded. They were really poor. We lose from two second phase set-plays which is frustrating as a manager because we work on that constantly.
“We’ve lost too many games with these fine lines and that’s the disappointing bit as we could have cemented our place in the top six with three points.
“We had numerous opportunities. We played okay but that wasn’t good enough on the day. We have to learn that, from games like this, you need to get a point.
“If you can’t win a game then don’t lose it. I think a few of the players looked a bit tired following the exertions from the other night against Rangers [2-1 win on Boxing Day].
“We still, I believe, had enough quality and energy in the team to go on and win. But we didn’t create enough. Our end product was disappointing and we tried to make changes that would change that.”
Despite their disappointment at the hands of Dundee, Robbo was still able to put a remarkable 12 months for Saints into perspective following another Premiership top-six finish which delivered a UEFA Conference League run.
“I don’t want to take away from what has been a fantastic 2024,” he reflected. “We managed to reach Europe and we’re a point ahead of where we were last season in the league and we have to remember that.
“The expectation is that we should be a top-six club and that’s credit to the group of players because we shouldn’t given what we have to work with.”
Saints will now begin preparations to first foot Kilmarnock on Thursday. Wing-back Scott Tanser will return from suspension but Northern Irish international Conor McMenamin is troubled with a calf injury.
“Good teams don’t lose again,” Robbo added as he began to look ahead to the trip to Rugby Park. “We have to react to this.”
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