ST Mirren striker John Sutton admits the Buddies recent form has not been good enough but says the squad will keep fighting to turn their season around.

Sutton scored twice as Saints lost 4-3 to Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday, their seventh game without a win in the Championship this season.

It was the first game under caretaker manager Allan McManus and Sutton insists he saw signs of improvement despite the result.

He said: “It’s disappointing. I don’t think anyone can accuse us of throwing the towel in but it hasn’t been good enough we are well aware of that.

“We have to get better and turn narrow defeats into wins.

“We have to take the positive things from the performance and work on things that didn’t go so well for us and come out fighting again next week. Allan and Webby have come in and done well.

“The players have enjoyed it and there is certain things that we changed that paid dividends. There was some signs of improvement.”

With speculation rife as to who will be the next manager in the Greenhill Road hotseat after Alex Rae was sacked last Sunday, Sutton says the players have got to remain focused on Saturday’s clash with Falkirk at the Paisley 2021 Stadium with Rae’s successor unlikely to be confirmed until next week at the earliest.

He added: “Everyone has been linked with the job. As players it doesn’t matter who comes in we just have to play to the best of our ability.

“There is a lot of ability in the squad which we aren’t showing at the moment.

“The fans came in their numbers and they have been brilliant. We need to stick in there because it is not nice for anyone when you’re losing games, it’s a horrible feeling but we’ve still got to be up for the fight of getting on a winning run.”