TWO significant matters emerged from St Kilda's win by less than a kick over Richmond a fortnight ago at Docklands, one technical, and one far more earthy.

Firstly, there was the nature of the win, eked out in the face of a cluster of injuries. Nick Riewoldt and Steven Baker and Matt Maguire and Xavier Clarke all went down, but Stephen Milne's seven goals got the Saints over the line.

It was not the type of win for which the modern-day St Kilda has been known. In the Grant Thomas-Ross Lyon period, the Saints have tended to either smash teams, or lose, and it certainly pleased coach Lyon.

"We had two guys out there who shouldn't have been there," he said yesterday. "People have questioned our spirit as a group, which I find unfathomable when you look at that effort. We've won a lot of close games."

Secondly, there was the technical matter of contested possession, meant to be crucial even in the modern, running game. St Kilda lost this category by a whopping 51 possessions on the night, yet beat Richmond through efficiency of ball-use. "That's a world record," Lyon said. "It's a really unique statistic."

But Lyon, who played his football in an uncompromising way, has not been prepared to laugh it off. He's too old school for that, which is why he has challenged his midfielders as they prepare to take on Collingwood at Telstra Dome tonight. "I've spoken about our midfield needing to lift, about the game being won in midfield," he said. "They know that."

A lot of people look at St Kilda and avert their eyes to the forward line, with its big names. Lyon looks at the middle, the coalface. He points to the fact that Champion Data has St Kilda at 14th in contested possession this season when its numbers are put up against its opposition. This compares with sixth last year, and in Lyon's eyes, it is not good enough.

"That's been my main message," he said. "You can't attack if you're not winning the ball. In our first quarter against Sydney, the Bulldogs and Geelong, we looked an attacking team. But if you looked closely, we were winning the ball really well."

Lyon believes that when St Kilda is criticised for being overly negative, and not looking to attack, they are missing the real point: that the Saints are not finding the football often enough. "To me, the issue is that you're only looking at the end result. But the process is, you've got to get hands on the footy. Nothing's changed in that way.

"Everyone's talking about the Bulldogs, but last year, they were nearly last in contested ball. This year, they're up the top. It's about getting hands on the ball first, in the air and at ground level. When we've done that, we've scored."

The Saints are kicking a respectable 13.6 goals a game, but have been closed down on occasion. It has led to the now annual batch of criticism of Lyon's apparent Sydney-isation of the club, a suggestion he was recently forced to deny.

"What I've decided is that people can draw their own conclusions," he said. "Everyone's perception is their reality."

St Kilda is at 4-3, fifth on the ladder but without skipper Riewoldt for a few weeks because of injury.

In fact, it is likely four of Lyon's favoured back six — Max Hudghton, Maguire, Steven Baker and Sam Gilbert — will be missing tonight, assuming that Hudghton, who had hamstring tightness, does not come up.

It is a scene familiar to St Kilda supporters, but Lyon insists it is not about injury management. He points out that Riewoldt, Baker and Gilbert all had unavoidable impact injuries.

But there is a perception the Saints are struggling, for they possibly have been overrated after their pre-season premiership. They did, after all, miss the finals last year, yet quite a few experts tipped them to win the premiership in March. Expectations weigh heavily on the club that has benefited from so many early draft selections.

"To say you take no notice would be wrong," Lyon says. "Its worth is only what value you put on it. Clearly, you're aware of it. (We were) eighth in 2006, ninth in 2007 … it was a pre-season competition, not a full-on competition. Everyone looks at the recruitment and those things. Look, we're like everyone. We're in it to win, but you can't talk about finals or win finals until you're in them. It's a marathon.

"I understand the expectation. You live in Melbourne. But it's the Leigh Matthews one: 'Put yourself in a bubble and control what you can.' That just goes with the territory. All I know is, I'm judged on results at the end of the day. To get the results, we've got to make sure we get our mechanics and team spirit right and the wins will take care of themselves.

"I think our spirit's fine. I'm not sure why that's been questioned," he said. "There are probably three teams who are happy with the mechanics. The rest of them, from us down, are working on them, to get that equilibrium right."

Lyon was fortunate in one way as a first-time senior coach. He inherited a good list. But he was unfortunate in another; St Kilda's team was probably at its best around 2004-05. Thus, when it missed the top eight last year, he was seen to have taken it backwards. The administration that hired him, headed by Rod Butterss, has largely gone, leaving him even more exposed than the usual first-time coach. Realistically, he has this year and next to point St Kilda upwards, or he will be out the door. Still, he feels he is moving forward as a coach.

"I'm more balanced, win or loss, and more upbeat, regardless of the situation. I think — I know — that I've grown in the role. I feel I've got full control in most areas. I'm not saying I'm doing it perfectly, but I felt I always understood the game.

"But the art form is, you can write the music but the players have to play it. There's still a bit of 'connect' to be done there. But I feel we are a united playing group, leadership group and coaching group.

"None of (us) is satisfied with being four-and-three and we've got some big challenges in front of us, as everyone has. If you ask me, I feel I've grown."