TOMMY CRAIG has admitted some of his St Mirren players have been affected by "adverse chants" from the stands and asked supporters to direct any frustration and anger towards him instead.
Craig believes the younger members of his squad have taken to heart some of the criticism that has come their way following a poor start to the season during which the team take only one point from their opening six home games.
The St Mirren manager says he can understand the fans' feelings but would rather they made him the attention of their ire, rather than the players.
"Sometimes we are putting youngsters in at a difficult period when we have lost a few games," said Craig, who could be without John McGinn for tomorrow's match against Dundee United. "Any adverse chants from the support are aimed at the pitch and sometimes these young players are affected.
"I work overtime with the players saying, 'Let them shout at me if they want to shout at all.' That's the only thing I can do, although it does toughen the players up.
"It's never nice but fans will be fans. I can understand their disappointment and anger at times but we need them to stick with the players. I'm always asked if I have a message for the fans but I'm going to stop giving one out as it's the same every week and the fans then say, 'Aye, we heard it last week'. We'll just try to give them a bit of action."
Over the summer St Mirren dispensed with the services of the sports psychologist used by former manager Danny Lennon, and Craig believes his years of coaching experience can help fill that void.
"I would like to think I can give the players as much support as I possibly can," he added. "There are a lot of young managers out there and for them to have that help at hand is beneficial. But I'm more down the other road."
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