St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari, has insisted his team need a football fix in their do or die clash with Ross County, not a mentality one.
The attitude of the Perth players was called into question by supporters after they failed to mount a comeback in the last 40 minutes of their recent defeat to Kilmarnock.
Had it not been for County’s defeat to Hearts, that performance and result would have put the final nail in their Premiership coffin.
Valakari can understand why the “character” case has been made.
But he believes the problem – and the solution – is more complex.
“Everyone can see that recently we’ve have been a team that is too easy to score against,” said Valakari.
“Our opponents haven’t had to work hard to score.
“The makeshift back four did an OK job on Saturday.
“But when you don’t have the solid foundation at the back that were the basis of our team when we were getting clean sheets, it’s harder for the team across the pitch.
“We don’t have the same rhythm that we had when the defenders had built good combinations with each other.
“That is understandable.
“It means you force the ball.
“And goals change games.
“Clearly, we should have done better for the first goal, but we had good chances to equalise after that.
“Then it was a soft penalty, and it became very, very difficult to come back.”
‘Too much’
Valakari added: “I understand that people will say ‘lack of character, lack of attitude’.
“Yes, at 2-0 down we should still push but in that match, it became too much against a Kilmarnock team who know how to manage a game.
“There are no excuses, and we know we need to defend better, play better and take our chances.
“It’s not an attitude problem or a mental problem – it’s a football problem.
“That’s what we need to fix.
“We have to be more decisive and more clinical in attack and defend as a whole team and be compact.
“Through the ugly work we’ll get more of the ball and through that we’ll get more chances.
“When you start doing football things better, it gives you confidence to show better quality in your final actions.”
Saturday’s opponents will want to put the prospect of automatic relegation to bed at McDiarmid Park, while also keeping their hopes of escaping the play-offs alive.
“I’m sure Ross County will say that they are coming here to win,” said Valakari.
“But they know that if they walk out of the stadium with a draw it is much better for them than it is for us.
“We need to win. It’s black and white for us.”
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