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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Macdonald

Steven MacLean insists St Johnstone 'will be fine' despite Rangers defeat

St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean insists his side "will be fine" despite them falling to a 2-0 defeat at home to Rangers.

The result means the hosts are still waiting on their first Scottish Premiership win of the season.

Goals from Danilo and Rabi Matondo took all three points for Michael Beale's men in Perth as St Johnstone remain bottom of the table after five games played.

And MacLean was left frustrated with how his side defended at times.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I am disappointed, especially with the two goals we lost. The first goal is our corner and we never worked on taking it short.

"They do have that freedom to do that if they think the chance is on, but then we get done in transition and I do not think we ran back to the goal quick enough.

"We spoke earlier in the week about how Rangers put a lot of crosses in the box. They are first in crosses in the league and we have got to mark in the box.

"For the second goal, we lose the ball and get done in transition again. [Rabbi] Matondo is very quick and you have got to credit them for that."

Despite the result, MacLean feels his team are making steady progress, citing the club's transfer business as something to be positive about.

"Overall, I thought our shape was good. I would like us to be a bit more tidy in possession sometimes," he continued.

"In the second half, we had opportunities and against Rangers you have to be clinical and we were not clinical today.

"Going forward, I think we will be fine. I think there is a lot of quality in there. I was worried at the start of the season but I think we will be fine after our transfer window.

"I think the players can see what we are doing and in training the levels are getting better every day. We just need to keep working hard.

"We will be fine."

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