ST Mirren manager Jack Ross admits he has been delighted with the reaction of the Saints squad during his first week in charge.

Ross took over at the Paisley 2021 Stadium on Monday and he and assistant James Fowler have had a week to introduce the players to their training methods and prepare for Saturday's home tie against Dundee United.

The new boss has been convinced of the squad's ability in that time and speaking at the club's Ralston training ground, he called for absolute focus from his players from the minute they arrive at the stadium on Saturday.

He said: "The players have been terrific. I keep stressing that there is a lot of different things that we will implement, some of them have already been put in place this week.

"It's just getting the balance between overloading them with that and the preparation for Dundee United.

"The reaction from the players has been good, there is undoubted quality in the squad.

"It's a case of them coming in in that frame of mind as soon as they walk through the door tomorrow. It's not just a case of when the game starts, from the minute they walk in the door there should be a focus about them.

"We've prepared as well as we can and I'm very much looking forward to it."

Ross admitted Saints' 2-1 win in the IRN-BRU Cup against Hibs at Easter Road on Saturday made his first week at the club easier. He praised the work of Head of Youth Allan McManus who was in charge of the side for three games after Alex Rae's departure culminating in the cup win.

Saints new management team have been keen to carry on that feel good factor this week.

Ross said: "I don't underestimate the importance of the Hibs result because that helped me come in on Monday, meet the players for the first time on the back of a terrific result.

"I said to Allan that the pressure he was under in that period should not be underestimated. The satisfaction he would've got from that win would've been immense and you could see the commitment he had to the club during that period.

"We've tried to feed off that with what we have given them this week. I have my own style of working and I think the players are adapting to that well.

"It is very early but we're absolutely desperate to feed off the positive vibes from last weekend."

Dundee United have had an inconsistent start to their league campaign but the St Mirren manager is under no illusions that his team will have to be at their best to claim their first league win of the season.

He added: "They've retained some of the players they had and Ray has recruited as well. There has been a lack of consistency in their team due to injuries so that makes it a bit more difficult to predict in terms of how they'll play.

"We've spoken about them and spent the last couple of days doing some analysis. We'll try and find the balance between the prep for the opposition and focusing on our strength as well.

"It's a great game, I think the opposition help make it such an attractive game."