Stephen Robinson met with the media on Friday morning ahead of our game against St Mirren.
RedTV subscribers can watch the press conference in full now.
Reflections on last weekend
“We were disappointed with the result last week, and we have to win on Saturday. We’re really determined to do that, and that’s what we’ll set out to do.
“We have to be the best version of ourselves. There were lots of aspects of the game last week. St Johnstone had two touches in our box. We had total domination of the game, but as we all know, the final third and the last decision or the last action wasn’t good enough, and we know that as a group.
“We know we need more numbers in those areas to score more goals, and that’s what we’ve worked on this week.
“I think we were getting into lots of areas with 22 shots. I think it was 65% possession or something, loads of corners and loads of entries into the box.
“But, as I say, a bit more quality is needed with our final decision and that final pass. We’ve worked on that, trying to encourage more people to get into the box, which is something we’ve continually tried to do, and being brave in possession of the ball.”
Using wingers
“As they have been since I came in the door, the players are full of positivity.
“As I say, we have got wingers in the building. It was Tony’s first 90 minutes (at Elgin on Tuesday night) and he’s a young kid. We always knew Tony was going to take time, going from Dundee to Aberdeen, where the expectation is very, very high.
“Hicham, unfortunately, was involved in a lot of the set up, but he’s come down with an illness, so he’ll struggle to be involved tomorrow.
“I thought Lewis Smith was effective when he came on, without having the end product. It’s something we’ve looked at and something we may have to tweak. But certainly, the big thing is trying to get more numbers into those areas because we’ve had a lot of domination of the ball."
Competition for places
“I think that was Emmanuel Gyamfi’s first 90 minutes as well (Elgin City game) in nearly six months, so it’s still quite early in terms of his recovery.
“Nesta’s done well for us in that position, and we also have Gavin, who can play in the back four as a left-back as well. So, we’ve got lots of options in that position, but certainly those boys have gone into the KDM game and approached it in the right manner.”
Craig McLeish and St Mirren
“I think Craig’s an excellent young coach. I think he’s done a really good job and recruited really well.
“Of course, you have spells in the season where things don’t go your way, and he’ll learn from that. But as I say, he’s a very, very confident coach, very confident in his ability.
“So I expect them to come and do the same thing, which has given them relative success so far this season after a good start. I don’t envisage loads of changes.”
Team news
“Ayoub hasn’t trained all week. We had to go through the concussion protocols with him, so we’re just looking at him this morning. It’ll be his first training session, so it’s a bit of a hard ask to go straight into the starting line-up.
“Kevin hasn’t trained all week either, with a hamstring injury, so he’ll be a late test on Saturday.”
Looking for improvements
“I’m not sure it would be a struggle to make the top half of the league after nine games. But of course we want to win the game, and that changes the narrative completely.
“We could have gone fourth with a win on Saturday. We didn’t. We didn’t do enough to win the game. But a win on Saturday can change that whole perspective.
“Was I disappointed? I was disappointed in the result. Of course, that goes without saying.
“We totally dominated the game. Take away everything else, we dominated the game from start to finish. St Johnstone had two touches in our box, and one of those was a penalty.
“We lost the game to a penalty. We lost two or three points at Hibs to a penalty. There were lots of aspects that were okay, but our final decision and final action, as I said, which is the harder thing in football, is what we’re working on.
“That’s something about belief and confidence, and that’s what I’ve tried to give the boys.
“I think when we look back, we’ve seen the lack of numbers in the area. As I say, with a lot of possession in front of them, it’s very, very difficult to break teams down.
“When you come to Aberdeen, opposition managers do that. They sit in and they’re hard to break down. That’s one of the hardest things in football. The top teams in the world struggle to break teams down, so of course it’s something we’re working on.
“We’re committing more numbers into that area. Have we got the balance right? We’re very good defensively. We’ve conceded very few goals but getting that balance right is what we’re working on. Sometimes that’s personnel, sometimes that’s the team sheet."
Scoring first
“I think it’s huge in any match. Statistically, if you score the first goal in the Scottish Premiership, there’s a high percentage chance that you go on to win the game. When you do that, and when we do that, you can see the confidence flow.
“They scored the first goal on Saturday, which allowed St Johnstone to carry out their game plan, to sit back and sit in. As I say, that worked for them. “Can we turn that around? Of course, and it’s up to us to try and take the game to them.”
