THEY haven’t recorded a win in their last eight cinch Premiership fixtures, but St Mirren need not reach for the panic button just yet.

That was Joe Shaughnessy’s assessment of the Buddies’ predicament following a thumping at Aberdeen and having not tasted victory since a 3-2 win over Ross County in Paisley in the middle of October.

The centre-back and his defensive team-mates found it impossible to cope with a highly energetic Dons whose front men, Christian Ramirez and Marley Watkins, each scored twice and while Scott Tanser hit an eye-catching goal for the visitors, they never looked capable of mounting a serious comeback.

With the hosts two up within the opening nine minutes, Shaughnessy’s thoughts must have turned to the probability that a hammering was on the cards. He would have been right.

“We gave ourselves a lot to do at the start,” he said. “Even before the first goal, I think we had a chance, and then they scored two quick goals and gave ourselves too much to do in the end.

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“It was disappointing conceding straight away. We got back into it and nearly got to half-time and then to concede another one, it was disappointing. You’re going in at half-time in the same place you were before the goal. It just wasn’t to be. We gave it a go but it just wasn’t to be our day.

“We’re on a bad run and we know it will turn around soon. We’ve just got to keep plugging away, stick together and it will be alright.

“Maybe we’re not getting the little bits of luck or little things just aren’t going our way in games. Last weekend against Hearts, we played well for an hour and then they scored a couple of goals. Sometimes you’re on a run and things don’t go your way.

“There’s no need to go near that [panic] button at all. We’re not even at Christmas yet.

“I haven’t looked at the table yet but it’s all okay. It’s probably the hardest the league has been in a long, long time. Everyone can beat everyone.”

Ramirez, on the other hand, flashed his Californian smile as he hit a goals target – double figures before the turn of the year - he had set himself before the season was underway.

His second strike on Saturday was his eleventh in all competitions, an impressive haul by any standards as the Dons seem to have clicked after almost half the campaign playing well enough but still dropping points.

“I went on a little lull,” he conceded, “ but I am delighted to get there [double figures] now.

“I think with the front four - Marley,  Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Ryan Hedges and myself - you just see our interchanging and movement and it causes havoc at times.

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“We got the rewards for that on Saturday.  We are all making sacrifices to open spaces for others.  “For Marley’s second goal, Hedges made a great run and it opened up space for him.

“It is things like that we are working between us and it is really coming off.

“Against Livi last week, Jet came in at half-time and said they felt we had 12 guys out there because of our running and movement.”