St Kilda coach Brett Ratten knows Thursday’s 15-point AFL loss to an undermanned West Coast was an opportunity missed for the club to end their finals drought.

The Saints could have secured their first finals berth since 2011 with a win over the Eagles but now have a massive last home-and-away fixture against Greater Western Sydney to determine their fate.

The round 18 match is basically a win-and-you’re-in situation for either team.

Having sat inside the top-eight since round four, Ratten is confident his team still has the belief to secure a finals berth.

“The good part about all this is the ball’s in our court,” Ratten said.

“We don’t have to rely on anyone.

“It’s up to us and we spoke about that after the game we just need to do what we have to do.”

The Giants and ninth-placed Western Bulldogs are both one game behind the Saints with two to play.

GWS play Melbourne on Saturday while the Bulldogs play struggling Hawthorn on Sunday.

Ratten also dismissed concerns his team might be struggling with the weight of expectation given the club’s long wait for finals football.

“We’ve put ourselves in a spot where we can sort of be close to it but we’re not guaranteed,” he said.

“Huge game for us coming up but I don’t think it’s been weighing on the blokes’ minds.”