Stephen Robinson spoke about the international break, Bevis Mugabi’s new deal and facing Hibernian on Friday morning.
Here’s what he said to the broadcast media.
On the break
“It has been a good week. A frustrating week in a way, because a lot of the players aren’t around until the latter stages of the week.
“For Declan Gallagher, Liam Donnelly and Trevor Carson, this is the first day they will train today.
“But it also obviously allows you to pinpoint more individual training, and work on certain aspects of people’s games that we’ve identified can improve.”
On international recognition for players
“[Declan Gallagher] certainly didn’t look out of place. It’s brilliant for the boy’s confidence, as well as the Under 21 boys who went away, with Barry and Allan getting game time under their belt as well. Same for Bevis Mugabi who has gone away and got good results with Uganda.
“For Declan, I thought that his performances were very, very assured for Scotland. Maybe there’s a partnership going forward that will give Steve something to think about.”
On a new deal for Bevis Mugabi
“We’ve only had Bevis for a short period of time. We got quite lucky because Charles got injured the same day we had Bevis in. We were able to find the money to go and do it when we got the injury.
“We are delighted to get somebody who has calibre at that stage of the season. In the two games [at Celtic and Rangers] he came through very difficult games. And I think he acquitted himself very well.
“But he’s under no illusions that he’s got a real fight on his hands to stay in the team.”
On defensive options
“I think they’ve all got different attributes. They all add something to the team. But what all of them have got is they can all defend. First and foremost, they can defend. That’s what we pay them to do.
“I think in modern football, sometimes defenders forget how to defend and it’s all about what they do on the ball. And we’re very lucky that all three of them are very comfortable on the ball as well.
“But first and foremost, they’re willing to get hurt. They’re willing to go and be aggressive – and in both boxes.
“That’s what we judge them on first and foremost. And I think they’ll get better. ”
On getting through the 2019 run-in
“I think we’ve had a lot more injuries in previous years than we have this year, touch wood.
“We probably seen after the two cup finals, we had a really hard time with injuries. Last season, I think we had 13 players out at this stage of the season. And not many of them from muscle injuries that you can do anything about.
“So we are okay where we stand at this moment in time, bar the longer-term boys. We’ve got a lot of competition for places.
“There’s a real fight for places and when I look at the quality we’ve got on the bench, that keeps people on their toes.”
On facing Hibernian
“We go prepared as we always do. Hibs have a high calibre of players and spent a lot of money putting the squad together. They’ve got a lot of talent in the squad.
“So we definitely go there having to be at the top of our game as usual. But we don’t go there with any kind of fear.
“We defeated them already this season with a good result, and people were at the top of the game to get that result. And we’re going to need that again.”