Kilmarnock defeat took Oran Kearney two days to get over

ST MIRREN boss Oran Kearney admitted it took him two days to get over Kilmarnock defeat. 

Kearney’s side were ahead at half time before two big second half calls meant Killie went home victorious in Saturday's crucial clash. 

Referee Willie Collum and his assistant Douglas Ross controversially gave Aaron Tshibola’s goal as over the line. 

READ MORE: Kearney urges players to improve game management after Kilmarnock defeat

Less than sixty seconds later opposite linesman David Roome disallowed a Simeon Jackson equaliser for offside; a call which looked marginal. 

And the former Coleraine gaffer says his disappointment overshadowed the team performance until Monday morning.

It was a frustrating day in Paisley for Kearney's side (Photo: Allan Picken) 

He said:“It was hard at the time, it was as tough a Saturday night as I’ve had, it was a sickener.

"It probably took me until the Monday to see the good that was there.

"You get so caught up in the emotion, what happened and the results that it took a while to grasp the overall performance. By about the Sunday evening or Monday that was beginning to sink in."

Kearney's side have yet to pick up a win since he replaced Alan Stubbs as boss, but the Northern Irishman insisted there were plenty of positives from the Killie defeat. 

He continued: “The more you look at it there was a huge amount of positives, but the key thing is it’s a results business and the result was the disappointing aspect.

"But there were two massive calls that have gone against us, at any level they make a difference. But, at this level they are going to have a huge impact on the game.”  

The manager refused any suggestions of Saints desperately hunting for the first win of his Paisley reign.

He added: “Definitely not desperation. The key thing I want is progress. I can only deal with the time I’ve been here, yes the record is since the first game of the season but in the time I’ve been here I think we’re building to a point where I’d call us competitive.

“Hibs we were highly competitive in the second half. Saturday we were highly competitive for big parts of the game.

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"We’re now finally getting ourselves into a position where we’ve an entitlement to say we can get a result in this game or we can do something.

“In the earlier games I’m not sure that level was there. I still believe we’ve a huge amount to go but I would say I’m happy with progress, not results but the ingredients of what we’re after and what we’re looking for from the players, if I’m honest I can’t really ask for much more.

"The training has been super and the way they’ve gone about their business has been super. We just have to keep our heads down and keep pushing hard and it will turn.”