| New Year lapses that saw five goals lost to Falkirk and Rangers in early January, led to work on tightening the defence and, while that has been relatively successful, the only competitive win since the festive period has been a Scottish Cup victory over the Buddies.
Now, though, Craig believes the time has come to get back on track in terms of SPL results.
“I think it was obvious we had to do something to shore up the defence, because, for a while, every time the opposition got the ball it looked like we were going to concede,” he said.
“With Lee Wilkie coming in and growing stronger with each game, Christian Kalvenes fit again, Sean Dillon finding his feet in the SPL and David McCracken’s improved form, we are definitely a lot better at the back.
“That has been at some cost to our attacking play and, without sacrificing any of the work we’ve done at the back, we have to look to be more of a threat going forward.”
Craig does not believe the lack of punch has been down to a more defensive approach alone and also cited the absence of skipper Barry Robson through suspension for much of January as a major reason.
He was back in the line-up for the cup defeat at Inverness last week, but his gaffer felt a combination of factors led to him being at less than his best.
“There was a lot going on for Barry before Inverness. It was the cup, his old team, he’d been out and had just signed a new contract, and I think all that put added pressure on him.
“It’s all past now, and this week he can just relax and get on with playing — I certainly don’t think it is a coincidence that our results dipped when he was banned.”
And while he knows his men face a hard battle at Love Street, Craig feels the memory of three wins over St Mirren already this term should give them an edge.
“What’s gone before will not mean anything once the game has started, I know that, but we do have a good record against St Mirren and that means we are going there with some positive thoughts.”
Lee Mair’s surprise return to training yesterday means there is a full squad to pick from, but it is unlikely the former Dundee defender will feature.
“He’s back much quicker than I expected and that is a plus, but I think it might be better to give him a week in training and then consider him for the Hibs game, rather than throw him in tomorrow.” |
