Stephen Robinson met with the media on Friday morning ahead of our Premier Sports Cup Last 16 tie against Dundee.

RedTV subscribers can watch in full now.

Dundee in the Cup

“It’s a chance to obviously progress in a cup, first and foremost, and another chance to play Dundee after last week’s performance, so we’re expecting better, of course.

“We know all about each other. And we’ll certainly hopefully get a response to last week.

“You know each other better, of course. It’s early on in the season, so you still find out about teams, new players and what have you. They’ll be the same with ourselves. So, we’re maybe a little bit more prepared of what we will face. They’ll be the same.

“But we have to obviously improve on our performance. We know it wasn’t a performance we wanted, but you get that. We have 13 new players. We’ve lost one game in six. Perspective has to be put on it.”

Demanding more

“Of course, we wanted a better performance. But if we’d all looked when I first came in here and went, okay, we definitely avoid the relegation play-off, we’ll revamp the whole squad, we’ll sign 13 new players and we’ve won five out of six, I think everybody would have snapped their hand off.

“So, we have to put perspective on it and obviously demand more than what we got on Saturday, and I’m confident we’ll get that.

“Most things (what needs to be better). We need to do most things better, especially the first half. We started the second half brightly and then conceded another goal.

“There are things that we’ve spoke about and looked at during the week. The atmosphere has been good. We’ve come in with a positive mindset.

“Players, they know when they don’t do well. They are an honest group of boys; there’s nobody kidding themselves.

“We all know we can raise our levels, and that’s what we have to do. So we’ll improve in every aspect of the performance.”

Building

“There isn’t as much praise when you win five games in a row as when you beat Hearts. You don’t get the same amount of praise as you do stick.

“This is a project that is going to take a little bit of time. As I said, there’s been that much change. We’re not just rebuilding a back four. We’re rebuilding a whole squad. And to do that in one window is very, very difficult.

“I think we’ve made brilliant strides in it. It’s part of the territory. You can choose to listen to it, or you can believe in what you’re doing, which all the players, all the staff, the board, we all do.

“We believe in what we’re doing. I know that over a lot of games at this level that, if given time, there’ll be cup finals, top-six finishes in Europe, and that has been proven over time.

“So we all know that, and we’re all being critical of our performance ourselves, but I know that we will be better.”

Team News

“Brad Lyons will still be missing, and Connor Ronan will be assessed today.

“So, other than that, Mats Knoester is probably not quite ready to start, he’s trained this week, but we’ll get a game in next week, a friendly game. So it gives him another chance to have another two weeks fitness before he’s back in the squad again.”

Goalkeeping department

“Well at the moment we’re obviously going with Nick Suman (as back-up). If other things develop and people that we think will make the squad stronger, then we’ll look at that, but it’s not something done at this stage.

“It’s been a very busy week, so we’ve not looked at it at this stage. We knew we had enough goalkeepers in the building. So, at this stage we’re going with what we have.”

Transfer update

“Not that I’m aware of at this moment in time (anymore ins or outs coming). No, we’re just concentrating on the game.

“Well we’ve done very good business in terms of the uplift in what we paid and what we’ve got back in for him (Kjartansson).

“KJ made it very, very clear he didn’t want to be at the football club from the first day I walked in. So, I think that has to be remembered as well.

“When a player tells you that, then you have to try and do the best business you possibly can.

“We have a lot of really good projects of our own, homegrown, that have been involved, some that haven’t been involved yet, but some really, really exciting prospects that play in a similar position.

“So for me, I think Lutz has done a fantastic job in terms of the level of money he’s got in, and we’re well protected should KJ go and fulfil the potential that he came here with.”

Perspective

“I didn’t see the reaction. I don’t look at reactions. My reaction and the players’ reaction is the one that counts.

“We were disappointed, of course. As I say, you don’t get the same level of praise when you win games. And I presume you’re talking about social media. A cesspit of negativity, so why we even mention it, I’m not too sure.

“It’s perspective. Football needs perspective. The club needs perspective.

“When you’ve won five out of six, you’ve just beaten Hearts, who were runners-up last season, you’re in the last 16 of the Cup, the only Premiership side that got maximum points and we were able to stay clear of a relegation playoff, signed 13 new players, there’s a lot of change.

“So you have to put perspective. This is something we expect. We expect to have bumps in the road when there’s that many changes.

“Had we lost to Hearts and beat Dundee, everything would be looking in the right direction, and it still is very much going in the right direction.

“I’m my own biggest critic, so I’ll be certainly the one that’s pushing forward, and we know what we’re doing. We’re very, very confident in what we’re doing as a group, as a staff, and that won’t faze me at all.”

Our Academy players

“The model that we’ve got is a trading model where we want to bring players in, be successful and sell them.

“But we’ve actually got a lot of boys coming through our own academy. You’ve mentioned some of the names, there’s more.

“I think it’s important that we don’t sign players from abroad unless they’re significantly better than our own boys. Otherwise, that stops boys coming through.

“I think it’s a fantastic bit of business. We’re well protected if KJ goes to fulfil the potential that people believe that he had.

“But first and foremost, he made it very, very clear he didn’t want to be here from the first day I came in. And I think that has to be remembered as well.”

The wider squad

“I think everyone’s got a price, haven’t they? But if they’re not in the first team, obviously their agents can be marketing them. I’m not sure we’re marketing them, but I’m sure their agents are marketing them.

“It’s a squad game now. You make changes, you need to run with a squad. You can’t have everybody playing. You can only play 11 players.

“So that’s up to me to manage that squad, and if we get offers that I feel are acceptable and the club feel are acceptable, then we’ll look at it. Otherwise, people are fighting for places.”

Joe Bevan

“They signed him nine months ago, so he’s now just coming to fruition now.

“That puts a little bit of perspective on players we’ve brought in, our younger players that are developing. It does take time.

“He played very well and obviously we’ll be a lot more prepared for him on Saturday.”

Ayoub Mouloua and Mitchy Ntelo

“Both boys have got talent, as I’ve just alluded to.

“When you sign for Aberdeen, if you’re not successful in the first 30 seconds, then you get judged. And at the moment I feel both players can have an impact and it’ll be up to them now to force themselves into the starting line-up.

“But certainly it gives us good options in the forward areas.”