St Johnstone must not produce another first half performance like the one offered on Saturday against Kilmarnock, skipper Liam Gordon has warned.
The Perth side failed to fire from the traps and were lucky to be trailing by just a single goal after a very disappointing opening 45 minutes at Rugby Park.
Wing-back Drey Wright did level in the second half with a wonderful low drive from distance which, in the end, clinched a valuable point.
“The first half was nowhere near good enough,” Gordon admitted. “We knew that as players.
“It was far from good enough. Far from the standards we set at this football club.
“We pride ourselves on hard work. That self-pride to go out there, not let anyone outwork you and be a disciplined, organised group. I felt we were so far from being that side in the first half.
"It was as poor as I’ve seen. We need to learn from it, see what we can do better and put in a 90 minute performance.
“Second half the boys came out and showed the character we’ve got and the desire to get something from the game. But the first half, that can't happen again.
“We have come away from a tough venue with a point after producing half a performance so it is not all doom and gloom.
“Hopefully the fans went home a bit happier than they would’ve been at the end of the first half.”
Wright has been a consistent performer for Saints this season and will likely be in the running for player of the season recognition. That was his sixth goal of the campaign.
Gordon told the PA: “Drey has been brilliant for us this season. He can play wing-back, right-back, right-wing.
“He is probably a joy for the manager and he is a joy to play with as well.
“His goal-scoring has been top drawer but he is not just scoring goals. He is doing the defensive side of the game well too. I’m hoping he can keep his run of form up.”
Saints remain eighth in the table, eight points clear of second-from-bottom Ross County and 10 points ahead of basement boys Dundee United.
Looking the other way, the Perth club is currently six points off breaking into the top six.
There is no league game next week due to international fixtures and preparations will now begin for the visit of Aberdeen on Saturday, April 1.
“It could be a massive point,” Gordon added. “As I touched on, Rugby Park is a tough place to come.
“We go into every game feeling we can take maximum points and that, on our day, we are a match for anyone in the league.
“We’ll look forward to the next game now but hopefully put a 90 minute performance in and put some more points on the board.”
