Teale Refuses To Throw In The Towel

Pic: Jeff Holmes

St Mirren manager Gary Teale will not throw in the towel until it is mathematically impossible for his side to stay in the Scottish Premiership. The Saints were dealt a massive blow to their survival hopes after losing 3-0 to Ross County on Monday night thanks to a Liam Boyce hat-trick and Teale admitted it is going to be a big ask if St Mirren are to avoid the drop. He said: "(It is) a big ask to stay up, we'll never throw in the towel but being realistic with the kind of form that we're in it's going to be a tall order, especially with no real consistency in our play. "As the manager I feel extremely low and disappointed. The goals we've conceded tonight have been very soft and that has been the story all season. Giving away soft goals just knocks the stuffing out of us." Teale lost his two central defenders either side of half-time, first Marc McAusland went off with a knee injury and then after the interval Viktor Genev saw red after bringing down Boyce when he was last man and the St Mirren manager admitted that it was a real blow. He said: "Losing our two centre halves was tough, first to lose Marc to injury and then Viktor for a red card. I've not seen the incident, there were a lot of close calls throughout the game but on that particular incident I can't really comment on it." Teale remained optimistic on his own future, stating that he has made plans already for the close season and intends to bring in some of the youth team, should relegation be confirmed. He said: "With the situation that we're in, we now have an opportunity to play some of the younger boys coming through the academy. It gives them a bit of experience and perhaps that's the freshness that this side needs." Meanwhile, County manager Jim McIntyre praised the work of hat-trick hero Boyce. The former Dundee United striker said: "Boyce has done fantastically well, this current run has brought him up to speed, he deserves all the credit and you can see the rewards that he can produce." "The team's form overall has even surprised me, its all down to players. We've got a group of players that are desperate to do well, the additions in January have been excellent and we remain focused on the job in hand. "Its great that we're definitely safe from automatic relegation, but there is still so much work that needs to be done so that we don't finish in 11th place. "The five remaining games are like cup finals. Motherwell and Patrick Thistle have all been in good form lately, showing that they're up for the fight as well but we've given ourselves a great chance of staying up. "We'll keep our feet on the floor until the job is done."