Liam Gordon apologised for St Johnstone’s weekend 7-0 defeat at Celtic - as attention now turns to “five cup finals”.
Saints’ goal difference took a battering against the league leaders but the Perth skipper says there is no time to dwell on such a disappointing result.
And instead all energy will be turned in the direction of the Premiership post-split fixtures which will soon begin after a weekend off.
Also in the bottom half of the table are current basement boys Dundee, 10th-placed St Mirren, ninth-placed Aberdeen, eighth-placed Livingston and seventh-placed Hibs.
“The lads were obviously bitterly disappointed with getting beaten by that scoreline on Saturday,” Gordon said.
“It is a difficult place to go and we knew that before the game.
“But the standards we set ourselves and levels we’ve been playing at recently weren’t reached. Nowhere near it.
“We can’t sit back and dwell on it. We need to put it behind us.
“We now have to look forward to five cup finals that are fast approaching.
“Whoever we get in that first game, we’ll be up for the fight and the boys will be ready for it."
One thing Gordon is certain of is that Saints can’t afford some of the basic errors on show against Celtic to remain in their game through to the conclusion of the season.
“Celtic are a very good side and they put on a display,” he noted.
“But you can’t make mistakes against them or you’ll get punished. That was shown on Saturday.
“The mistakes put us in a position and they then get the energy and boost from the crowd. It made it very difficult.”
A vocal travelling support - the most vocal this reporter can remember for a league game at Celtic Park - had backed the team despite the scoreline at the weekend.
Gordon is encouraging the Perth public down for the post-split fixtures to cheer the team on in their bid for survival.
He said: “We’re disappointed we didn’t give the fans a result worthy of their support on Saturday.
“Since the turn of the year our fans have been absolutely magnificent. We can’t thank them enough.
“They are like a 12th man to us and, post split, we hopefully have three games at McDiarmid Park.
“We need the fans there filling it out, which they have been doing. They have been absolutely superb.”
