St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson is disappointed with his sides overall performance in 2017 after the Saints missed out on qualifying for the finals for the sixth straight year.

After climbing from six wins in 2015 to 12 last year, St Kilda set their sights on the finals but finished short with 11 wins for the season, despite sitting at 9-6 following the stunning win over Richmond in Round 16.

Speaking on his weekly appearance on AFL 360, Richardson said St Kilda haven’t improved enough to produce consistent performances that warrant a berth in the top eight.

“We’re disappointed with this year,” Richardson said on Fox Footy on Monday night following the Saints final loss of the season against Richmond.

“We were in this exact same position last year and we wanted to improve and we haven’t improved at a rate that sees us go to that next level so we’re disappointed.

“We know there’s nothing else to focus on other than the work that’s required and the work that we need to do to make sure we bridge that gap, so that’s going to be our focus.

“The ladder is always right. There are certain parts of our play that have improved, there are some facets of our play that haven’t improved to the level they need to for us to qualify for finals.”

While consistency has been an issue for the Saints again in 2017, Richardson said a handful of emerging players have taken the next step this season to stamp themselves as players of the future.

Seb Ross and Dylan Roberton produced career-best seasons to earn a spot in the All-Australian 40-man squad, while Jack Sinclair, Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan, Jack Steele and Blake Acres produced impressive patches throughout 2017.

“There have been some individuals that have really improved,” he said.

“On the weekend blokes like Sinclair and Dunstan and Acres and the next generation of midfielders are starting to play the sort of footy that will see us be more consistent.

“That’s our frustration that our good footy is good, it’s just not consistent enough.”