“Most definitely,” said the Northern Irishman. “If we win the game we potentially go into eighth place.

“If someone said  at the start of the season that after nine games you could go eighth and get knocked out of the quarter-final of the Betfred Cup by a team flying in the league (Hearts), I think everyone would have snapped your hand off.

“So it’s maybe not quite as bad as it gets made out although we are well  aware that we have had a very hard start, a very difficult start.

“Now is the opportunity to kick on. We have players coming back from injury and we will be a lot stronger after this break.”

Robinson is confident he has the right type of characters at the club to get back on track.

“It is harder if you have boys who go into the corner and make excuses, go into groups and never take responsibility,” he said.

“But we have a group of players who know they can play better than what they have been doing, know at times they have been a little bit unfortunate with goals they have conceded.

“So we have a very good group of boys and staff that stick together and this is when you see you have a good squad, good character and good people behind you.”

Robinson. however, is expecting nothing but a tough game against the Perth side.

He said: “Over the last four or five years St Johnstone have been excellent.

“I don’t think Tommy Wright gets the publicity or credit he deserves and I am not just saying that because he is also from Northern Ireland and I am sticking up for him.

“A club like St Johnstone, continually in the top half of the table, they are going to be a tough nut to crack.

“They have had a similar run of fixtures to ourselves so it is going to be a tough game.

“There is no expectation to beat anybody, it is a tough league, we have to concentrate on what we do well.”

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