ST MIRREN manager Jack Ross admitted his side need to be stronger mentally if the Buddies are going to avoid the drop this season.

The Saints were 1-0 up in the Renfrewshire derby at the Paisley 2021 Stadium on Saturday when Ton’s Jamie McDonagh was sent off after 60 minutes.

Instead of seeing the game out comfortably Saints struggled to keep possession and invited pressure, and a late Ricki Lamie equaliser left the Paisley men with a familiar sinking feeling and six points adrift at the bottom of the Championship at the turn of the year.

Ross says his side have got to show a stronger mentality if they are to see games out and climb the table.

He said: “I was disappointed in the manner of the performance in the latter stages of the game, which meant we had that bit of fragility near the end.

“It is sore, whenever you drop points in injury-time it is always going to hurt.

“The performance was better against 11 men than it was against 10, I think everyone could see that.

“The anxiety side of it is there because of how the season has went but you need to develop a mental strength to deal with that, it’s a huge part of any sport.

“That maybe means scoring again or making them work harder than we did in the final 20 minutes of the game they still had a freshness about them because we didn’t keep the ball well enough and that allows them to get higher up the pitch late in the game and win a set piece.”