St Johnstone midfielder Jack Butterfield has admitted that if the Perth side are to put their Premiership survival bid back on track they have “got to be better” than their second half Highland surrender.
Losing their way when the going starts to get tough has been a recurring theme for Callum Davidson’s team this season.
And it haunted them against Ross County once more.
Butterfield believes the result doesn’t alter the fact Saints are a squad on the up.
But it has shown there remains one big area in need of improvement.
“We’re really disappointed with our second half,” said the former Derby County man.
“We managed tough conditions well in the first half, got the lead and felt comfortable.
“It was frustrating to concede when we did, before the break, but at half-time we said all the right things and were confident we could step it up to go on and win the game.
“It just never happened for us. We conceded poor goals.”
Ross County moved seven points clear of St Johnstone at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table 🏴
The Staggies came from behind to win 3-1 👏 pic.twitter.com/aAy8pPzx7g
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 26, 2022
Butterfield added: “We didn’t respond well to the second goal which is very disappointing because there was plenty of football left in the game.
“We never put them under any real pressure.
“We’ve got to be better. Got to be better. We’ve got to deal with setbacks.
“We’re starting games well now. I think we’ve gone one up in four of the last five (it’s actually five in six).
“That shows we’re approaching games well.
“We’re just not dealing with setbacks well enough. It wasn’t good enough second half.
“It’s tougher when you’re near the bottom of the table but that’s not an excuse. We can’t use that as a reason.
“It’s not going to be plain sailing for us. We’re going to have difficult times and we need to respond and do the basics well.
“I feel like we’ve turned a corner in many aspects since we’ve come back from the break.
“We’ve got two big games coming up now and hopefully we’ll get some points from them.”
Opportunity lost
Saturday’s match was Saints’ opportunity to close within one point of their opponents, who were the next place above them in the table.
Even though they are now seven points adrift, though, Butterfield does not believe it’s second bottom at best for the McDiarmid Park side.
“We just need to win football matches,” he pointed out. “As many as we can.
“There are still a lot to be played.
“We can only control what we do.
“We’re back at home against Rangers now.
“We’ll give it our best shot.
“It’s a great opportunity for us. Of course it will be difficult but if we defend well there’s no reason we can’t get the three points.”
