The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Shaughnessy insists pain ofcupexitis shared by the players
Saints looking for a reaction to cup defeat when they face Motherwell
After savouring their first-ever cup win three years ago, it is hardly surprising St Johnstone fans want to repeat the experience.
So the midweek Betfred Cup exit at the hands of Partick Thistle was tough to take.
But Perth defender Joe Shaughnessy stressed the disappointment in the McDiarmid stands was shared within the home dressing room.
Saints had targeted a run in the competition following their Europa League exit against Lithuanians FK Trakai.
After claiming another top-six finish last term, Tommy Wright’s men had been fast-tracked beyond the group stages.
But they crashed 3-0 to the Jags in front of their own fans days after getting the league campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win at Kilmarnock.
Now Shaughnessy is looking to make amends and set the tone at home for the rest of the season.
The former Aberdeen defender admitted: “Our home record hasn’t been good enough over the last year or so. That’s something we know we have to change and it would be good to get a win on the board here early in the league.
“We need to change it. We need to get it back to being somewhere teams don’t want to come because they know we’re strong.
“The fans were frustrated the other night. We understand that because they are desperate to see us win.
“The home form has been patchy. It hasn’t been as good as we want it to be so we need to change that this season.
“Tuesday night was really disappointing because we wanted to get a run in the League Cup.
“But we gave away stupid goals and missed too many chances.
“The one good thing for us is that in the past when we have put in a performance like that we’ve usually got a reaction.”
Shaughnessy has emerged as one of the first names on the Perth teamsheet since a switch from Pittodrie two years ago.
Given their hard-earned reputation for solidity at the back, he admitted Saints’ pride had been dented by the manner of the goals conceded against Thistle.
Skipper Steven Anderson was penalised for an ill-timed lunge before Aussie midfielder Ryan Edwards and former Dundee United man Chris Erskine rubbed salt in the wounds.
“Defensively we need to cut out the mistakes. You don’t see Steven Anderson give away many penalties,” said Shaughnessy.
“Their second was a good goal but the third should have been dealt with.
“Apart from that I didn’t think Partick caused us too many problems but they
were clinical and we paid the price. So we need to be better.
“We limited the chances Kilmarnock had last weekend so we need to get back to that.
“We pride ourselves as a team on not losing goals, so to lose three at home isn’t acceptable for us.
“We have to put it right against Motherwell now and we’re just glad to have a game so soon to make amends.”
The Irishman echoed manager Wright’s warning that Saints will have to up their game to maintain a decent track record against the Fir Park side in recent campaigns.
He was impressed with the muchchanged Steelmen’s performance in losing narrowly to Rangers last weekend before claiming an extra-time Betfred win against Ross County in the Highlands.
“They have good players and up front they are very strong. I watched them against Rangers and thought they were very good,” he said.
“They will take confidence from winning their cup tie in extra-time at Ross County so will come here looking to get a win.”
Shaughnessy pinpointed striker Louis Moult as their main danger man.
He said: “Louis Moult is a good player. Every time I have played against him he has been a real handful.
“He’s had a lot of attention over the summer and he might get a move out of it, although I don’t think that will be before we play them.
“But we have done well against them in the past and we will need a strong defensive performance this time.”
Perth boss Wright has midfielder Paul Paton available after suspension and summer signing Stefan Scougall is likely to start after coming off the bench in midweek.
Meanwhile, manager Stephen Robinson believes Motherwell will travel to McDiarmid still on a high from their Betfred Cup exploits in midweek which saw them win in extra-time with only 10 men.
“The boys are really looking forward to Saturday, there is a lot of confidence in the team and in the camp,” he said.
“We have won five games out of six at the start of the season and there is belief and when there is belief you can start building a team spirit, fans start to believe in what the players are doing as well so there is a good feeling around the place at the moment.
“It is important to get off to a good start, by no means are we getting too carried away with what we have done.
“We got into the next round of the cup. We lost our first league game so it is now of paramount importance that we gets something out of Saturday.”