BUILDING on in-roads made this year remains a focus for St Kilda coach Alan Richardson as the Saints prepare for a tough final three games of their season.
The Saints, whose slow start against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday resulted in a 23-point loss, face the Sydney Swans, Richmond and Adelaide in the final rounds.
The 4-15 Saints are last on the ladder and Richardson said there was still plenty to play for.
"We want to continue to build on what we've focused on all year and that's to be strong defensively," Richardson said on Sunday after the loss to the Dogs.
"There were periods of the game today where we were pretty solid and there were periods where we were disappointing.
"When the ball got on the outside of us today, we struggled to go with them and that's something we need to continue to work on.
"We've got to make sure we're much more consistent across four quarters."
Richardson said injuries this season had exposed 41 Saints to senior football, with more game time likely up for grabs next week with Josh Bruce and Jack Billings in doubt for Saturday's clash with the Swans.
Both will be scanned on Monday, with Bruce aggravating a complaint with his left shin and Billings tweaking his hamstring in the game's final minutes.
Richardson said the considerable injury toll had not only given the coaches an idea of who would be part of the team as it moved forward but would also help the players prepare for 2015.
"That's been great for us, to be able to have a look at the players and for the players, they're going to go into a pre-season knowing where they get to physically, technically and attitudinally," he said.
"The remainder of the season is about building on the work we've done but also for guys to continue to build individually on their work they're doing."
The Saints were slammed in the centre clearances in the first quarter on Sunday and struggled to defend the Dogs' slick ball movement off half-back through the corridor.
They fought back, to their credit, which Richardson said was an indication they were prepared to "do something about it" after such a sloppy start.
There were other positives; the backline looked better with Sam Fisher and Sam Gilbert finally in the same team, Sean Dempster was good on Luke Dahlhaus and Tom Curren and Maverick Weller stood Robert Murphy and Ryan Griffen well.
Richardson added while next week's clash with equal ladder leaders the Swans would be a "fantastic opportunity", starting strongly would be crucial to their competitiveness.
"As long as we can get going early - we won't want to start the way we started [today]," he said.
"It will be great for our group to get away together and make sure we have a real focus on starting well and try and mix it with a great footy team."
Richardson said retiring club great Lenny Hayes, who was honoured in the Saints' final home match for the season, was "very relieved" the week focusing on him was over.
"He doesn't like all the attention," he said.
"He just wants to play footy and get out there with his mates and crack in, to block for someone, to tackle someone; he wants to sing the song at the end of the game with his mates.
"He'll be pleased he can just get out and train and recover with his mates and then have a crack at Sydney next week."
