St Mirren manager Jack Ross hopes that the next time he has cause to enter the stands at a match it will be to celebrate keeping his side in the Championship.

The Buddies boss caused a stir after last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Queen of the South by confronting an angry fan in the main stand who had been voicing his disapproval at his side’s performance.

After a frank discussion, the pair when their separate ways on amicable terms, and while he isn’t looking to repeat the feat any time soon Ross says the encounter shows how passionate both he and the fans are about St Mirren.

“It was done in the heat of the moment to a degree,” Ross said. “But I was calm and we had a good conversation, and the response I had all around and from the supporters since has been very good.

“I wasn’t doing it in any way to deflect from my responsibilities as a manager who has lost a game, there wasn’t any preconceived ideas behind it.

“It was just to emphasise how much I understand the responsibilities of my job, and how much I want to be successful and get the club to a better place.

“I said to the gentleman in question that I understand that his love for the club was far beyond mine, and the fans had been supporting the club long before I was there and they will still be there long after I’m not at the club.

“I get all that, and I think they could tell I was genuine when I put that across to them.

“It’s not something I’m planning on repeating on a weekly basis, but hopefully I can jump into the crowd and embrace them when we’ve achieved what we are setting out to do for the rest of the season. I’d settle for that.”

The chat with the fan wasn’t the only clear-the-air discussion that Ross has engaged in this week, with a few home truths being laid down to his players since the disappointment of last Saturday.

That has provoked the desired response from Ross’s players, who he feels are going into today’s massive game at Dunfermline in determined mood.

“We had some fairly frank conversations over the first few days of the week after the result on Saturday, and I think it has undoubtedly helped,” he said.

“We’ve trained really well since and there are good players here who I think will respond to that.

“The last thing the players can do is feel sorry for themselves, but there has been no attempt to protect them because they have to be aware of the situation that they are in and the seriousness of it.

“This is a time for them to dig deep and show strong character, because that is what it is going to require and we’ve emphasised that.

“There might be an argument to say that you should remove the pressure, but for me they should know the realities of it.

“I have no indication that that is not the case with them, and we’ll go into the game on Saturday in a good frame of mind.”

The mood in the St Mirren camp has been buoyed by the loan arrivals of Rory Loy from Dundee and Craig Storie from Aberdeen, as well as the permanent signing of Norwegian midfielder Pål Fjelde.

“What I like about Rory is that he was here many years ago as a young man, and he wanted to jump at the opportunity to come back here and prove that he was a good player,” Ross added.

“I also felt as if we needed another central midfielder with Kyle Hutton being out at Airdrie on loan.

“We have a lot of technically gifted players in that area who are all quite similar in terms of their attributes, and while Craig has good technical ability, he also has an aggressive edge to his game that I think will benefit us over the remainder of the season.”