Anthony Stewart spoke to the media and RedTV on Friday.

“I would not just dismiss the first 20 minutes at Livingston as a blip. We need to take more responsibility during the game. We have only got ourselves to blame for the goals we conceded.

“You can’t afford to start any game slow, and we got punished for it. There was a good reaction from the players to try and get back into the game, and we probably should have taken something from it as we had numerous shots on target. But ultimately, we came away with nothing.

“Away from home, going forward we need to be more compact and be more aggressive from the beginning. We have also been looking at how we can control away games better. When we come back from the break hopefully it is something we can put in place.

“Most of the goals we have conceded have been from set pieces. That is the first thing we need to look at before we talk about being too open. We like to dominate the ball and to do that, you are going to be open to a certain extent.

“We will try and take that second half performance and that momentum into the game on Saturday.

“Every game I look forward to, but even more so playing against Dundee United and trying to make up for the loss earlier in the season.

“When we were at their place, we lost 4-0 and it was a very disappointing evening, especially with the support we took down to Dundee. It was a horrible performance. But we are now at home, and we are in great form at home. We are a good team, and we hope to show that on Saturday.

“I am confident going into the game and if we approach the game with the right mentality, I believe we will get a positive result.

“Whether it is a back three or a back four, it does not matter as we have a lot of good players and good versatility in the squad. Whatever way we line up, I believe we are strong and capable of getting a result.

“Next game is always the most important, but this game is even more so with the World Cup break coming up. We want to go into the break sitting in third spot. It is very important we get the three points and the job done.

“As a team we will use the break as an opportunity to take some time to reset, gather our thoughts and learn from some of the mistakes. Also, I will be working on some things I have not had time to work on in the gym so I can come back as strong as I possibly can.

“It will be important during the five week break to keep ticking over.

“Personally, the first half of the season has been a big learning curve for myself, adjusting to playing in the Scottish Premiership against different players that I have not played against. I now have a good awareness of what I am up against and I feel I am in a good place going into the second half of the campaign.”