AS yet another Jim Goodwin lash forward sailed high over his head, Paul McGowan began windmilling his arms furiously.

The game was still in its infancy but the diminutive St Mirren attacker had already grown exasperated by the efforts of his colleagues and appeared to be signalling for them to calm down and move the ball more briskly along the ground rather than resort to aimless balls forward. Either that or he was just taking a tantrum.

It was easy to feel his frustration. Time and again captain Goodwin would beseech his team-mates to show for the ball then spear aerial passes high and wide of their intended target. It was painful to watch. That said, for all the derision demonstrated by McGowan and his attacking colleagues as another wayward punt soared past them, it should be said that they themselves offered little when they did tame the ball. Indeed, as he desperately scrabbled for positives in the aftermath, manager Danny Lennon could only really reference the performance of goalkeeper Christopher Dilo.

Little wonder the St Mirren manager appeared addled when he finally emerged almost an hour after the game. His assessment contained references to bakers, ingredients, tools and even on two occasions "Danny Lennon", but precious little in the way of insight. Take the issue of Goodwin's deployment at centre-back. The converted midfielder has been an integral part of a unit that has conceded 11 goals in six league games yet has retained the role despite the presence of established defenders such as Lee Mair and Darren McGregor on the sidelines. Would one of those not be better suited to the position with the Irishman's qualities utilised instead to stiffen a flimsy midfield?

Lennon responded with a tortuous analogy in which he was the baker, his players ingredients and the performance a cake. Then, in the next breath, he was another kind of tradesman, talking about the tools at his disposal. Given he referenced his "toolbag" a couple of weeks ago, it was a familiar theme. As was his valid observation that, were he to be removed from his role, it would be just to ask exactly what it is St Mirren expect from a manager given he has kept them in the top flight for three seasons and won them the League Cup.

But what of this satchel of his? Having rummaged around, he produced a 19-year-old goalkeeper with a handful of senior appearances to his name and a side bereft of defensive midfielders and genuine strikers. A fleeting glance at the teamsheet suggests he does, as he claims, have good enough players to halt the malaise but are they being used correctly? Or is it just that their morale has slumped so far that they are incapable of performing anywhere near their peak?

"When you're confident and you're winning, things are second nature, but when people are on your back and results are not going your way, you have a second thought," explained defender Marc McAusland. "You take a extra second to think about what you're doing then someone is on top of you and you lose the ball. That's the difference between winning and losing and we're on the wrong side of it right now. We need to keep looking to pass the ball and, if we lose it, to pick each other up and not get on each other's backs. If we keep playing it, I'm sure we'll come out the other side of it."

If McAusland required evidence, he need only point at their weekend tormenters. It is easy to forget that it is little more than a month since Pat Fenlon was in Lennon's position and that Hibernian were bereft of belief but three wins and two draws in their past five matches have altered perceptions. Whether the recent run has been a true revival of fortunes or merely a case of papering over the cracks remains to be seen but, certainly, there was more conviction about the Easter Road side on Saturday.

Michael Nelson has helped make them more resolute defensively, while the recruitment of Paul Heffernan has given fellow striker James Collins a desperately-needed foil. "After the way the season started, the onus was on not conceding but now Heff's has come in and helped link the play and hold the ball up," explained Liam Craig. "As midfielders, we know we can make runs off that and, although we might have scored more goals, it was another clean sheet at home and if we keep on doing that we will win games."