Greg Leigh hopes Aberdeen's latest defeat will finally be the boot up the backside they need to get back to winning ways.

The Dons were ragged against St Mirren in Saturday's loss where they crashed out of the Betfred Cup following a howler from goalkeeper Joe Lewis with a few minutes left on the clock in Paisley. Derek McInnes's side were without a handful of first-team starters, but Leigh refused to use their injury list as a crutch at full-time.

The defender was willing to take responsibility as a senior member of the group for the poor performance and result. His side have now lost two of their last three games in all competitions, including a 4-0 mauling to Rangers at Ibrox, and in between they only managed a draw at Hamilton.

Leigh was in no mood for excuses, however. He just wants their current form to improve. "It's annoying and something we're frustrated with but I don't think [our form] is a concern," he said. "Having people out is annoying, but concern at this point isn't the right word. It's time to put it right and it's a kick up the arse to say we need to pull our socks up. We're playing [St Mirren] again and we can't have that same performance. We have to turn it around.

"It takes character to turn it around and to get a winning performance when you haven't been able to win in three. We've got a whole week training to get around each other and that's the way we'll turn it around."

St Mirren's Ilkay Durmus curled in a delicious free-kick into the corner within just five minutes and Jon Obika missed a glorious opportunity to double his side's lead inside the six-yard box before Aberdeen's Niall McGinn levelled proceedings before the break.

And just when both sides were readying themselves for extra-time, Jamie McGrath's speculative effort squirmed through the legs of captain Joe Lewis and into the visitors' net. The usually composed, consistent and reliable goalkeeper was at fault, a somewhat fitting way to show exactly how Aberdeen's luck is looking right now.

And Leigh added: "That happens in football and Joe has been fantastic, he's saved points for us, so I don't think anyone is looking to Joe today. At the end of the day there's a lot of people in front who could block it.

"Everyone needs to look at their performance. I look at what I should've done better myself but it's important to have that pride. We maybe lack the consistency of, 'I'm going to be as good as I can be today'. Individuals look at themselves but the team needs to do that collectively."

"I think we were second best but we knew what we were expecting. This team was going to come out and give everything because it meant a lot to them. We weren't taken aback but we didn't match it, that's something that kills you in games when you don't match the underdog, the smaller side."

One player who impressed for the Buddies in the middle of the park was former Aston Villa youngster Jake Doyle-Hayes. The Irish midfielder was among the most composed players for his side and was delighted at a job well done. "It’s a massive win for us, it’s taken us through to the next round and that’s what we wanted," he beamed.

"What we want to do is concentrate on what we do and the performance from every single one of the lads, even the boys who came off the bench, was outstanding."