John Sutton has praised the impact of new St Mirren manager Jack Ross, but he says the onus is on the players to improve after their dismal start to the season.

Sutton has been impressed by the impact of Ross and assistant manager James Fowler since their arrival at the Paisley 2021 Stadium this week.

And while he admits their fresh approach has given everyone a lift, he says it is up to the players themselves to improve St Mirren’s fortunes rather than relying on the manager.

“It’s always a fresh start when a new manager comes in, and the fact we’ve brought in a management team with such credentials and their enthusiasm since they have come in has lifted everyone,” Sutton said.

“We’re in this position with a new manager though because as players we haven’t been good enough, so it’s up to us as individuals to also pick our own games up.

“Everything’s been really good. Obviously we had the good result on Saturday and then the new manager has come in, so training has been really good and he’s come in with a few good new ideas.

“He has been very well-organised and enthusiastic, and the players have reacted well to that.

“Obviously it’s all about trying to get a result on Saturday now and trying to put those ideas into practice.

“Everyone has got their own ideas and you couldn’t really fault anyone’s training, it’s just different. Certainly Jack has been excellent with what he’s brought in this week, everyone is buying into it and we’re just hoping that what we’ve done on the training pitch we can take out there on Saturday.

“The way the manager has talked and the way he wants us to play is very positive, so if we can get into the habits he wants from us then we’ll have a chance to do very well.

“In the end though he can only do so much, it’s the players who go over the white line on a Saturday and we have to improve ourselves.

“I don’t think it has been ability that has let us down this year, it has been transferring that from the training ground onto the pitch that has been the big problem.

“From day one when I walked in I could see the boys were capable of a high level, but we’ve got nowhere near that level on a Saturday.

“I think we have an opportunity to turn it around, but we’ll have to do an awful lot better than we have so far.”

With the Irn-Bru Cup victory at Hibernian last Saturday and the arrival of their new management team, Sutton says a win over Dundee United would be the perfect way to round off the most positive week in Paisley for quite some time.

“Especially with the new manager in it would be great to round off such a positive week with a win," he said.

“Hopefully we can create some chances and take them, or get a bit of luck, and we can kick on from that.

“Like every game, we’re desperate to win it, and like every other team we are hoping to go on a bit of a run if we can.

“Particularly in this division because you play teams so many times, you have a chance to claw the points back, but we’re not looking too far ahead.

“It’s going to be an incredibly tough game against Dundee United, so we aren’t looking too much further than that right now.”