Derek McInnes insists things have to learn from their mistakes as his side return home tonight.
Kilmarnock welcome St Johnstone to Rugby Park under the Rugby Park lights as they play their postponed game from last month.
And Killie, who are aiming to bounce back from a 4-1 defeat to Aberdeen, will be keen to bag three points for a 5000-plus home crowd.
A defeat would leave Killie nine points behind the Perth side, but a victory would close the gap to just three and would also allow the Ayrshire side to leapfrog Ross County and out of 11th place.
When asked if his players will be receptive to what's been asked of them after Saturday, McInnes said: “I think so. We’ll soon find out. I feel as though we’ve still got enough experience in the squad.
“There’s times like Saturday, we go and lose the first goal and then we’re still thinking about the first goal, still [got] head like a toy shop and we lose the second goal pretty quickly. We then get one back, we miss a chance to go to 2-2 and put a bit of pressure [on]. And we’re looking forward to getting in at half-time and setting about for the second half and we lose a goal right in the last few seconds.
“These are moments and the kind of things we need to learn and be better at: closing games out; don’t lose another goal after we lose one; getting a bit of composure and a bit of sense and having the wherewithal to go again. It’s not just an individual thing, it’s a team thing
“[It’s game management], and being smart, really.”
He continued: “You can set the demand, you can have a way of working that people have to adhere to – they either jump on board or they don’t.
“I feel as though we know how as a staff we have a lot of experience and we know what’s required, how to train and prepare.
“A big part of that is having players that are able to perform and have that hunger to go further.
“We’re working towards trying to get that over the next few windows. On the pitch there’s plenty of effort from the players.
“What we have been guilty of is a little bit of naivety at times. We need to show more of ourselves in these situations. We’re not going to get it all one way as much as we did in the Championship last season. So when it’s time to suffer, and teams come on to us, we’ve got to be able to deal with those moments better.
“We’ve lost three games in a row away from home; 1-0 at Easter Road, 1-0 at Livingston; Saturday was the first time since the Celtic game that we felt we were well beaten, but we played the biggest part in that.
“You hope people learn quickly. It happens – we’ve got quite a young squad. There is a trade-off for that, we get a lot of energy and pace in some areas.
“Learning on the job, for the younger ones. For a team we’ve got to try and be robust and resilient enough when these moments come.”
Meanwhile Killie are likely to be without Liam Donnelly and Fraser Murray, and will face a late sweat over Ryan Alebiosu.
Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty will be included in the squad as he awaits his SFA verdict later this month.
McInnes said: “[Liam] Donnelly, [Ryan] Alebiosu, and Fraser Murray have knocks.
“He [Murray] got a knock in training, he was doing a bit extra during the international break and turned his ankle, so unfortunately he’ll miss this one.
“Alebiosu and Murray might have a chance for tomorrow. I’m hoping all three have got a better chance for Hearts on Sunday.
“Yes, Kyle will be involved. I’ve said what I’ve said on that and I don’t think it’s right for me to keep going on about it. Kyle’s brought this situation on himself and we’re going to have to deal with the consequences of that.
“I was hoping it could have been dealt with a bit slicker and speedier but it is what it is and we should all try to move on until the SFA pass their judgement.”
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