Dundee manager Jim McIntyre has told his players to make sure that Saturday was the last time they fail to “stand up and be counted”.
The Dens Park boss pinpointed his side’s response to going behind in the second half as his main complaint in the 2-1 loss that leaves the Dark Blues bottom of the Premiership.
St Johnstone are up next on Wednesday night, giving Dundee an early chance to show McIntyre that they have taken his message on board.
“It’s a major disappointment,” he said.
“We started really well, scored the goal and caused them a lot of bother.
“The most disappointing thing for me was the reaction after the second goal – that when we had to stand up and be counted and we didn’t.
“St Mirren won more headers and second balls after that.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that side of us and I didn’t like it. Our reaction when we’ve gone behind in all the other games has been really good.
“We had a brilliant away support and we let them down in terms of that reaction.
“If you’re going to get beat, there’s a way to get beat and we didn’t show that.
“The bottom line is we have to do better.
“I’m not going to dress it up. They’ve been told that if we want to get out of the situation that we’re in, we need to stand up and be counted more than we did.
“When you’re at this stage of the season and you’re involved in a relegation battle there are nerves out there. It’s about handling that and dealing with it – making sure you’re man enough to do your own job.”
