St Johnstone interim manager Steven MacLean stressed their fate was in their own hands after a home defeat by Motherwell left them in relegation danger.
Saints failed to test Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly during a 2-0 defeat at McDiarmid Park.
Results elsewhere mean they are only five point off the bottom of the cinch Premiership and three ahead of 11th-placed Ross County, with Kilmarnock only two points behind.
Saints now face two away games at Rugby Park and in Dingwall before finishing their season at home to Livingston.
MacLean said: “We aren’t really interested in the other teams. It’s in our hands, we’d rather be in our position than the teams below us.
“We will go to Kilmarnock and be positive. The boys are disappointed but I will pick them up again. We will go down there and look to win the game.”
One major positive was Chris Kane’s comeback from a knee injury, which has been delayed by other minor fitness problems. The striker came on in the 84th minute for his first appearance since January 2022.
“It was great to see Chris back,” MacLean said. “I am delighted and now he has to push to be fit again for next week.”
Andy Considine went off with a head knock and will be assessed in the build-up to the game, while Melker Hallberg will be a doubt for the trip to Ayrshire after missing Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury he picked up in training 24 hours earlier.
Motherwell moved into seventh place after Kevin van Veen’s re-taken penalty and a stoppage-time strike from Mikael Mandron made it two wins from two games since the split.
Manager Stuart Kettlewell admitted some poor passing and St Johnstone’s aggressive approach had made life difficult for them in the first half but he was delighted with their improvement after the break.
“The most pleasing aspect for me is probably the character that they show, because it’s very easy to think you are in holiday mode and very easy to think you can stroll through that game,” he said.
“This is such a difficult venue to come and get anything from, especially when St Johnstone need points as well.
“The character, the personality and that wee bit of quality we came up with in the second half, and that element of going right to the very end, was pleasing.”
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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