TALKING ST MIRREN: IRN-BRU CHALLENGE CUP FINAL

bigger more significant battles ahead, however, and the hope must be that they can quickly shake off any lingering disappointment.

FROM a previous position of looking dead and buried at the bottom of the Championship just a few months ago, their form since the end of January has been, barring the odd blip here and there, nothing but impressive.

Next weekend they welcome Ayr United to the Paisley 2021 Stadium for what already looks a hugely significant match-up, while Dumbarton are their visitors a week later. Saints are in danger of running out of matches but certainly at this point not out of hope, as Ross confirmed.

The Saints boss, right, said: “The supporters in Paisley quickly tell you what they think of our performances, and their reaction at the end of the game was reflective of how they felt their team performed.

“We’d be happy to take that level of performance into our remaining games. There is a group of players who believe in what we’re doing, and believe in each other, so if we can maintain that level in our remaining games, we’ll win enough of them. “We are making steps in the right direction. Winning would have been a big step but producing that level of performance was a small step forward and we still have a long way to go.” Ross was magnanimous about United as they celebrated their trophy success but could find no fault with his own players’ performance bar those missed chances.

HE ADDED: “I’d like to congratulate Dundee United, first and foremost.

“In terms of the game, I thought we were the team on the front foot for large parts of it and I thought we created the clearer opportunities. I have absolutely no complaints about