ISAAC OSBOURNE admits St Mirren's Scottish Cup shocker in midweek showed him just how far off the pace the Buddies are this term.

Tommy Craig's side crashed to a 4-0 defeat in the Highlands as Inverness eased into the last 16 of the competition.

It could even have been worse for the Saints as they were outclassed and boss Craig was once again the target of abuse from the band of Paisley punters who made the long trip up north.

St Mirren return to action this afternoon when they host St Johnstone hoping to haul themselves away from the foot of the Premiership table.

And Osbourne is determined to play his part in the Paisley revival after returning to the side seven days ago following an injury lay-off.

He said: "Tuesday night showed me how far away we were from them, but the good thing for me is that when we got back to training on Thursday you could see how much we wanted to work to get to that level.

"I wouldn't say that the gulf between us was alarming, but I was very impressed by Inverness - I've never seen them play as well as that before.

"They've always had good individuals in the past but the way their centre-backs split, the way Ross Draper gets on the ball…they dictated the game against us.

"It made me feel that that's exactly what we should be doing and, when I used to play against St Mirren a couple of years ago, that's what they would do.

"With the players we have in our squad we're more than capable of still doing it and the manager keeps telling us that we need to get back to that.

"But we need to show more belief in ourselves - if we're not prepared to get on the ball then he doesn't want us out there. You're better off not on the pitch.

"Right now we haven't been doing that but we need to make sure we do against St Johnstone."

With just eight points to their credit so far, St Mirren find themselves once again toiling at the wrong end of the top-flight table.

The pressure has grown on boss Craig as fans have voiced their fury and called for him to be replaced in the dugout.

The Saints have yet to record a home win this season and Osbourne knows things must change quickly.

HE said: "We are in a relegation battle. Okay, it's not the end of the season and if we lose today it won't be the end of the world, but these are three points that we need in a big way for ourselves and also for the fans.

"It would be great to give them a first home win of the campaign and give them something to cheer about.

"They've put the manager under pressure. To be honest, the players haven't had too much stick from them.

"At Inverness they gave the gaffer a lot of stick and some of it was quite horrible but, at the same time, they've travelled so far to get there that they're entitled to do it. We need to give them a gutsy, disciplined performance."