BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
St Mirren goalkeeper Jamie Langfield insists the Buddies are short on confidence, NOT fitness, following criticism from their own chairman.
Paisley chief Stewart Gilmour told shareholders at the club’s AGM this week “I don’t think they are fit enough”, as the club toil at the wrong end of the Ladbrokes Championship.
With just one point separating St Mirren from the relegation places, Ian Murray departed the club on Saturday night.
And, ahead of tomorrow’s crunch clash against Alloa, Langfield batted away claims that their dire form can be traced back to the training ground.
The former Aberdeen stalwart said: “The chairman can say what he wants but I can say that we work as hard as anybody, we did double sessions upon double sessions.
“The confidence is a major part of how you look on the pitch. if you go 1-0 or 2-0 down then the shoulder slump and the legs look heavier. If you are winning then you are running about the pitch all over the place.
“It is certainly not the players fitness, I can certainly say that from working with the boys.”
The Buddies have won just one of their last 11 league matches, despite Langfield insisting the dressing room is packed with precocious young talents.
It is a source of frustration for the experienced stopper, who is desperate to see his teammates take their form throughout the week onto the pitch on a Saturday.
He told BBC Scotland: “The problem is the confidence has been knocked by not getting results in games. In training, the boys are flying, but if you don’t get three points on the Saturday, it doesn’t matter what you do during the week.
“It is upto us to play with no fear, roll our sleeves up and give that little bit more.
“We’ve got the ability in the changing room – I wish I had the ability of some of those boys – but we need to match that with the hunger and the desire. If we can do that, we’ll get out of this mess.”
