A failure to see out games when in winning positions cost us a lot of points last season - and that inability came back to haunt us last weekend against Hamilton.

When you score with five minutes to go, you have to have the savvy to see it through and get the points.

It never happened last weekend, just like it didn't happen often enough last season, and the two late goals from Accies were hard to take.

We were all disappointed with the defeat, but you have got to give credit to Alex Neil and his players.

Accies made it tough for us, but it still goes down as a missed opportunity.

Knowing how to win games is something you can't really coach, it is down to the mentality of the individual and the team.

I don't think there was a moment in my playing career where I picked it up, if you like.

If you are not playing well, you need to do what it takes to win the game. It is a natural thing when you are on the pitch.

It is something you require, especially in this league. Alan and the players have spoken about being more streetwise this season and having that know-how is so important if you are to be successful.

However, I don't think it is something that you can really work on. It comes down to the players when they are on the pitch and how they manage the game and each situation.

It is frustrating for the players and for myself and Alan but we have bounced back from situations like this before and we will do again. They are a good bunch of lads and we could see the disappointment on their faces after the Hamilton game.

The next time we find ourselves in that situation, hopefully the outcome will be different.

Whenever we had a bad result last season, we always got a reaction from the squad and had a positive performance and result. The boys are good that way.

We got a great reaction from them on Tuesday against Morton and now we need to see it at Pittodrie this weekend when we face Aberdeen.

They are an upbeat group that all get on well together, there are no cliques or anything like that. They are all in it together, they help keep each other's spirits high and we are in a confident mood heading into the Aberdeen game.

They are, outwith Celtic, probably the best team in the league and Derek has, outside Celtic, probably the best squad. They are still trying to find their feet this season.

They are a really good team who had a successful season last year and performed well in Europe this season.

We want to get back to winning ways in the league.

It is never nice to lose any game but we are still early in the season and, overall, it has been a good start for us.

We were excellent against Ross County and turned in a really good display at Dundee.

Having the League Cup tie against Morton on Tuesday night gave us a chance to get back on track straight away and it was a good win for us.

Morton made it difficult on a tight pitch but we did the most important thing and got into the hat for the next round thanks to Kris Doolan's first- half goal.

Now we are looking forward to the tie with St Mirren as we target a good cup run this season, as well as setting our sights further up the league.