St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari insists that a heavy defeat against Celtic will not yield mental scars in the bid of the Perth Club in the semi-final of the Scottish cup to prevent relegation.
Looking for a new big shock against a Celtic team that chased a domestic Treble, saints were brutally dismantled during a breie afternoon in Hampden.
An outburst of four goals on the part of Brendan Rodgers just before the rest killed a chance that the men of Valakari repeated the defeat of Premiership that they inflicted in Perth in Perth two weeks ago.
The St Johnstone manager proudly expressed the way in which his team was not held in the second half, but admitted that they could not have any excuses or complaints about the result.
All focus will now return to the competition and the five remaining matches in their struggle to make their way of the bottom of the table.
Currently, five points will look on Drift van Dundee, St. Johnstone to increase their hope to organize a big escape when they travel to Motherwell next weekend.
Assured that his team can bounce back, the 51-year-old Finn said: 'It was a tough afternoon. Of course it was not the result we wanted. We have no complaints.
“Celtic came up with ruthless energy. We stayed solid for 30 minutes, but a few did not make good decisions with the ball. They punished us.
'Celtic still did the same things at the end of the game as at the beginning. We did 30 minutes we were practicing, then we thought: “Let's try something else”.
'BOOM – At that moment everything went out of our hands. We must be patient and know what works.
'The cup dream had disappeared during the break. We only had proud to play for – for this club and our fans.
'I think the players showed that character in the second half. We deserved to be in this semi -final. It was a fantastic cup trip.
'Yes, we are sad and we suffered a little. But we have to freshen up and go again tomorrow.
'Of course tactical things were spoken during the break. But we had to show what kind of team we are. It would have been so easy to collapse.
“There was no other choice. The dream had disappeared, but the pride was there.
'The players who came up made me think about how we will use these last five games. This was a cup-and-half final against a top opponent.
'I can't predict the future, but I've said it for a long time, we can do a lot of good things, but our bad things drag us down. If we can solve that, I believe that our level is good enough to stay in this competition.
'That is what Celtic can do with every team in Scotland, they are ruthless. No hard feelings, no apologies, we have not done enough good things to get something out of it.
'I am proud of my players, but we can't give away crazy goals because we don't have time or points to do it. That is what we are working on.
“There is no opponent who will help us. We have our own achievements – there is no fear, we will go with full attack and see where we are. '
St. Johnstone looked like they had scored a spectacular consolation goal 10 minutes in the second half when replacement Kirk struck one in the upper corner from 25 meters.
However, it was excluded by VAR, due to a slight push of Daniels Balodis on Celtic striker Adam Idah in the structure.
“Yes, there was a kind of push, but I feel for making seeing,” Valakari said. “It was a wonderful attack. That's what it's like. '
The most important positive for the St Johnstone boss was the sight of striker Uche Ikpeazu who came from the bank to make his long-awaited debut in the second half. Since he came to the club last summer, the 30-year-old Englishman has been destroyed by injuries and he had to undergo three separate knee operations.
Now Ikpeazu is finally fit again, his manager hopes that the powerful goalkeeper can have a big impact in the last few weeks of the season.
“It was good to see Uche again,” said Valakari. “It has been very difficult for him.
'For the team we were shown what kind of player he is. We must understand that it is a year without football.
“He is healthy. Let's see what happens to more training in him. I believe he can help us a lot. '
In the meantime, St Johnstone -star Kirk, 21, said about his not – -access goal: 'I knew that as soon as it left my foot, it went in the back of the net.
'The adrenaline gets better from you when you score one remotely.
'It was a great feeling at the time, but as soon as the referee lasts centuries to confirm it, you start getting an idea (it is not awarded).
'I saw his thoughts starting to change, so you get the feeling that it is not going your way.
'I personally find it soft. Idah's touch means that he never gets control of it. I don't think it's a mistake, but the referee decided it was, so there is nothing you can do.
“It was personally destroyed because it was a charity in a big game, but you just have to go on.”