ST MIRREN manager Gus MacPherson claimed the fans were right to boo his team off the park following their goalless draw with Gretna on Wednesday night.
Gretna keeper Greg Fleming made two good stops inside five minutes from Mark Corcoran and David Barron but Saints otherwise struggled to create chances.
Substitute Stephen McGinn struck the bar with a fierce volley but Abdul Osman missed a great c
hance to claim three Clydesdale Bank Premier League points for Gretna when he headed wide from 12 yards.
Another replacement, Stewart Kean, had the ball in the Gretna net deep in injury time but he was well offside and the premature cheers of the Saints fans soon turned to jeers.
"I totally understand that," said MacPherson. "We gave them a lot of praise after Saturday's performance against Hibs. They were a shadow of the team that played at Easter Road. The strange thing is we took nothing from Easter Road and got a point there after a performance like that."
While MacPherson understood the boos, he hopes the young players who were on the receiving end do not get disheartened.
The Saints boss made five changes from the team that lost 2-0 at Hibs, bringing in youngster Ryan McCay and later taking Craig Molloy and McGinn off the bench.
"The disappointing thing is the younger players, their confidence will take a dent from that," he said.
"At the end of the game we had McGinn, Molloy, McCay and Barron. It's a harsh lesson for them. You can't allow your standards to drop, you have to make demands of yourself."
While the St Mirren fans made themselves heard at the end of the game, there was little atmosphere during the match in front of a crowd of 751 at Fir Park.
But the good news for Gretna is they only have one match left in Motherwell – against Hearts on May 17 – after the SPL allowed them to play four away games after the split.
Caretaker manager Mick Wadsworth said: "I suggested to our administrators, tell them we will play the last five games away because financially it is easier to play away than it is at home.
"It's a costly exercise putting the games on here whereas away games you only need a bus. So I think it has been done for that reason and we appreciate that.
"To be honest, it would be nice to go to away grounds anyway because it's going to be a better atmosphere and it's helpful to the other teams.
"We know we are going down so we just want to make the most of these games and we are really looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Hearts caretaker boss Stephen Frail believes defender Christos Karipidis has proven he still has the ability which convinced the club to fork out for him almost two years ago.
Karipidis arrived at Tynecastle in a £200,000 deal from PAOK Salonika but injuries, notably a knee problem earlier this season, have hampered his progress.
However the Greek was a regular in Frail's side from the beginning of 2008 until he suffered a back injury in the draw at St Mirren on March 15.
And Frail will be delighted if he can restore a fit-again Karipidis to his line-up next week when Hearts, having missed out on a top-six finish in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, face the Buddies again.
The 25-year-old is currently back in his homeland with his wife due to give birth, however he is set to return to Edinburgh next week where he will come into contention for Hearts' first ever game in the bottom six mini-league.
"It's good news that Christos is nearly there," Frail told www.heartsfc.co.uk.
"Hopefully we'll be able to include him in the squad for St Mirren and take it from there.
"He's really impressed since returning to the team after a period of injury at the start of the year, and I think we've seen what a good player he can be for us."
Finnish striker Juho Makela will also take a step closer to full fitness as he resumes training this week after damaging ankle ligaments last month.
The full article contains 713 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
