St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson defended Middlesbrough loan man Zach Hemming after a nightmare second debut for the young goalkeeper.

Hemming completed a loan move back to St Mirren last week and was thrown straight into the starting 11 on Sunday at Celtic Park. It followed Hemming being recalled after a disappointing first half to the season at Leyton Orient, while the Buddies lost Ellery Balcombe, who was recalled by Brentford.

Having impressed while on loan with St Mirren last term, Hemming’s reintroduction to fans was not a happy one as he shipped three goals in a 3-0 defeat to Celtic. In what was described as a ‘rusty’ display, Hemming let one in he’ll know he should save, while a mix up between himself and a defender saw him spill the ball for a tap in for the host’s third goal.

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Reacting after, Robinson said:"We had to throw Zach in at the deep end today with Brentford calling Ellery back. He's not played for months and we're very confident in his signing. We know he'll get better and better with games.

“It was my decision. I had to throw him in and make that decision. We didn't lose the game because of Zach. It was a mix-up in the box for the last one, which happens. It's never one person's fault. I'm confident in Zach as a signing and as a boy. I think we'll get our rewards from that as the season progresses.

"Then it's an individual error and a mix-up in the box for the third. We got punished by a very good side.Football is up and down. We're never going to win every game. Individual errors have cost us and we need to take that out of our game.”

Hemming has returned to the Paisley club after a disappointing loan spell at Leyton Orient was cut short. North of the border last term, Hemming established himself as a fan-favourite. And upon securing his return on loan until the end of the season, Robinson admitted plans are in place to discuss a permanent transfer at the end of the campaign.

“We’re delighted to have Zach back,” The St Mirren boss said. “We think Zach is a very good goalkeeper that we've managed to get back again. "We all know what he can do. He was very successful last season and we will be in discussions with Middlesbrough as we look at the potential of making it permanent at the end of the season.

"My job is to make the squad as strong as we possibly can in every position. I believe bringing Zach in strengthens the squad and gives us another percentage in trying to stay in the top six."