STEVEN LAWLESS, the Partick Thistle midfielder, has acknowledged that conceding a last-minute goal to Hamilton Academical last weekend hurt the Glasgow side more than the heavy cup defeat by Celtic.
Thistle were leading 3-2 at New Douglas Park a week ago only to lose a goal in the final minute of the match, denying them a first win in four matches.
The draw followed a 6-0 defeat in the quarter-finals of the League Cup earlier that week. Lawless admitted that it has been easier to get over his club's cup exit than their league frustration, albeit the Glasgow side have a chance to get back to winning ways this afternoon against St Mirren.
"I don't think we got enough credit for coming back from 2-0 down [last weekend], especially after what had happened to us at Parkhead a couple of nights before," said Lawless. "A lesser team may have crumbled after going two behind.
"We definitely felt lower on the Saturday than we did after the heavy defeat by Celtic. Parkhead was just one of those things. When you go down to 10 men it's backs against the wall so [last] Saturday we had to put in a performance.
"After Accies scored their two goals we upped it again and got the rewards we deserved by going ahead, so obviously that was much more disappointing just because of the manner in which Hamilton equalised."
If Thistle are to get a much-needed three points in Paisley, Lawless is likely to again be one of their key men. The midfielder is in fine form this season, despite his side having slipped to ninth place in the table.
"I started last season okay but had a niggling injury and didn't help myself by playing through it," said Lawless. "My performances dipped as a result so the gaffer was right to take me out. But this year I'm trying to get consistency to stay in the team throughout the whole season."
That sentiment would likely resonate with Marc McAusland, the St Mirren defender having been given increased responsibility within the squad this season. The 26-year-old has assumed a sense of seniority in the dressing room since being named as club captain and that has increased with the absence of suspended defender Jim Goodwin today. The Irishman is serving a two-match ban for elbowing Dundee United forward Aidan Connelly last weekend.
With experienced striker Steven Thompson injured alongside Isaac Osbourne and Gregg Wylde, it could be a very young home team which plays in Paisley today and McAusland intends to lead by example.
"With big Thommo being out for the whole season, that's a big loss for us, on and off the park," said the defender. "He's a massive leader and 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 and dragging the boys through."
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