JACK ROSS is not the panicking type even when disaster seems to lurk in every nook and cranny.

Several months on from his appointment as St Mirren manager, the Paisley team remain bottom of the Championship having won just two league games and are seven points adrift going into Saturday’s home derby with Morton.

It’s good a job Ross knows how to deal with difficult times because losing the head isn’t going to help his team win any more games.

Jack said: “I love my job, that's the biggest thing. I love coaching and this is a great club to be at. If this had been my first job then I would worry a lot more.

“Give what I have done before in management and coaching, I am prepared to handle things when we go through bad times. That's been good for me.

“I have been pretty calm and made sure all our messages get to the players, something which can get lost during a tough period.

“I would have like more wins. Don’t get me wrong. But I know how to deal with this situation. I have found it all okay.

“I do think about what I could do better and what we are all doing wrong. It’s important to keep calm and focus on the job in hand.”

Ross has heard it said more than once that his team should be doing better than they given the players he has at his disposal.

The truth is, St Mirren got off to a slow start and the club as a whole seems to have been unable to recover from that despite swapping Alex Rae for Ross early in the season.

Ross said: “We are working hard and have been playing a lot better recently. That’s been the case for seven or eight weeks. We got into derby feeling good about ourselves. We lost at Tannadice in the last game but again we played well.”

If ever a match could launch St Mirren’s season then it’s the Hogmanay visit of their old rivals from Greenock.

Ross said: “I remember this game as a player. We played Morton in the Renfrewshire Cup which was a pre-season match and even then it was competitive.

“So I expect a fierce contest and we will have a good crowd in as well. The time of year it is adds something to it all.

“All we want to do is win a game, but I know what it means to the supporters who will take a lot of a victory.”

Ross will be allowed to sign players next month. In all honesty, the club have no other option.

As chairman Gordon Scott said: “On the playing side I am sure you can all see tangible signs of improvement, however, a cursory glance at the league table shows that we need to start turning these performances into wins and points on the board.

“As I have said before, the squad is currently imbalanced and I know Jack and James (Fowler, assistant manager) have been spending hours watching potential January recruits over the last month with a view to addressing that as soon as possible once the transfer window opens.

I think we are all aware what we need and rest assured we will do our utmost to bring in the players we need to help improve the team.”