Oran Kearney has warned that bringing Premiership success to St Mirren will not be an overnight fix.
The new Buddies manager watched as his team were battered 3-0 by fellow strugglers Hamilton at the Hope CBD Stadium on Saturday.
Fredrik Brustad sent Accies on their way in the first before Mickel Miller struck a second from the spot after St Mirren substitute Jordan Kirkpatrick fouled Dougie Imrie. Miller added a third from distance after the break as Hamilton leapfrogged Saints in the table.
Kearney, whose side secured a surprising draw with champions Celtic last weekend, said: "At my old club in Coleraine for seven years, we went through two or three years of a building stage before we got to where we wanted to be.
"There are things that change from being a Championship club to a Premiership club, and that transition is hugely important to try to remain in that league for a number of years.
"It's a huge project, and it's going to be a challenge, but it's one we're going to embrace."
Kearney also warned his players that they cannot continue to let their heads drop after going behind. Hamilton's second goal followed just three minutes after the opener, and Saints never looked like recovering.
He said: "In the standard of this league, you have to be honest and say that we'll probably lose more games than we'll win, but it's about your progress and learning.
"And it's about mindset, because if they're going to feel sorry for themselves every time they go behind, or every time they lose a match, it's going to be a long season.
"Not just myself and the coaching staff, but also the senior players and everybody around the club – it's so important that everyone's mindset is correct.
"They have worked so hard to get to this stage that they should be embracing the challenge to go out every week and prove that they're good enough at this level."
Hamilton manager Martin Canning was delighted to see his side notch their second win of the season after three consecutive defeats, and singled out goalscorer Miller for stealing the show.
He said: "I thought young Mickel was brilliant – his man-of-the-match award was completely deserved.
"It wasn't just his attacking output, but also his work rate to get back into shape when we lost the ball, it typified his performance.
"I can't fault anybody for that performance today, but I thought Mickel deserved a mention – he was excellent."
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