McAusland ready for responsibility
St Mirren defender Marc McAusland has vowed to embrace his increased responsibility on the park after Jim Goodwin joined Steven Thompson on the sidelines.
McAusland has been captaining the team in recent weeks with Thompson still about a month away from returning from groin surgery.
The 26-year-old will lead Saints out against Partick Thistle on Saturday without player-coach Jim Goodwin beside him after his fellow defender was given a three-match ban for elbowing Dundee United forward Aidan Connolly.
With the likes of Isaac Osbourne and Gregg Wylde also missing through injury, it could be a very young team that plays and McAusland knows he needs to set an example.
The centre-back said: "With big Thommo being out for the whole season, that's a big loss for us, on and off the park. He's a massive leader and I think that has been shown in results.
"But it's not just down to one person. We all need to pitch in and do our bit and hopefully we can start picking up results sooner rather than later.
"I've been here a few years now and I'm now one of the more senior players in the squad.
"We do have a really young squad. The young boys definitely need to look up to me and I need to be putting on a performance as well and hopefully dragging the boys through.
"If I'm playing well hopefully the rest of the team can play well and we can get results."
Tommy Craig's team go into the game on eight points, four behind Thistle in the Scottish Premiership, but McAusland feels they are close to picking up more wins.
"The people who have been coming to see us will know we have been playing good football but we just can't get a run of results together," he said. "I'm sure it's going to come at some point.
"We've not won a game yet at home which is disappointing for the fans as well as ourselves, but this is another chance for us and it's down to us and how we perform."
Partick winger Steven Lawless admits they need to wise up to avoid losing late goals.
Thistle have continued an unwanted habit from last season by conceding five important goals in the final five minutes of Scottish Premiership matches this season.
Those included an injury-time penalty winner against St Mirren and last weekend's equaliser by Hamilton midfielder Tony Andreu deep into injury-time.
Lawless said: "We've got a bit of a habit of doing that so it's one of the things that we need to work as a team and try to make it right.
"You can't take anything away from the strike at the weekend, it was a wonder strike, he took the ball down and turned and hit it right in the bottom corner.
"So there's not really much we can do about that but we have previous of doing that so we need to work on that as a team.
"I think we need to be more neat. It's been seeing out games that's the problem. Teams seem to do it against us.
"It's just things like putting the ball in the corner and holding on to it, and getting away with as much as you can during those last few minutes.
"Over the period we have been up we have lost a few (late goals) and if we can cut that out I think we can push a lot higher up the table."
St Mirren's win at Firhill is one of only two the Paisley side have managed in the Scottish Premiership but Lawless knows their luck could turn at any moment.
"It's a bit like us last year," the former Motherwell player said. "I've seen a few of their interviews and games and the ball is just not falling for them in crucial areas of the park. Hopefully it continues that way past the weekend.
"They are a good team but sometimes you go through those stages where the ball just doesn't drop for you and things go against you."
Lawless has started 13 games this season after flitting in and out of Alan Archibald's starting line-up last term, and he believes uncertainty over his future is actually helping him.
The 23-year-old is out of contract beyond the summer but is comfortable with postponing renewal talks.
"I've not spoken to the gaffer, I'm just trying to concentrate on my football and trying to get up the league," he said.
"I quite like the pressure of not knowing what's going to happen, I think that makes me perform better. So I'm enjoying it the way it is but I'm open to talking if the club want to obviously."
Source: PA
