IT’S ALL IN THE MIND Ryan: We need a winning mentality

St Mirren midfielder Ryan Edwards admits he is at a loss as to why it just isn’t clicking for the Saints.

But he pinpointed the mentality of the side as something that must improve if they are to get themselves out of relegation trouble.

The Australian international, currently on loan from Hearts, bemoaned the fragility of the side following their 4- 1 drubbing at the hands of Aberdeen.

For the second away day running Saints appeared to collapse after conceding the opening goal, with the loss at Pittodrie following on from a 3-0 defeat away to Hamilton Accies a fortnight ago.

But the 24- year- old offered no excuses as he called on the side to buck up their ideas when they return to action after the international break.

Edwards said: “It seems to be the case that once the first goal goes in, everybody’s mentality goes a little and so does the performance.

“The momentum soon went to Aberdeen, and we just weren’t good enough so it is disappointing.

“I’m not sure why we keep losing goals in quick succession.

“It also happened in the Hamilton game. The first goal went in then and the heads dropped. In this league the first goal is so important.

“Maybe because we concede the first goal, everybody thinks it is so difficult to get back into the game. It’s a hard one to hit the nail on the head with but it is probably a good thing that we have got the international break coming up.

“We went there with a game plan and for the first 25 minutes we matched them.

“We had a couple of sniffs at goal and upset Aberdeen a little bit.

“But Saturday was a disappointing result and performance.”

Despite having no game this weekend, St Mirren will be back out on the training field as boss Oran Kearney looks to right the wrongs of the past few weeks.

It has been a real baptism of fire for the Northern Irishman, who remains on the hunt for his first win since replacing Alan Stubbs.

Edwards, who was relegated with Partick Thistle last season, insists he has seen enough in the side to believe they will get out of trouble.

But he says the players need to be as one when they return to action against Kilmarnock next weekend.

He added: “We just need to work harder and take more pride in our work.

“I have been in this situation before with my previous club and it is not nice.

“It is all about pulling together as a unit.”