St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has backed his star midfielder Nick Dal Santo to soon emerge from the worst form slump of his career.

In a week in which the Saints have found themselves under plenty of scrutiny, following last week's poor performance against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium which has seen the NAB Cup premiers drop outside the top eight, it is the classy Dal Santo that arguably finds himself under the most pressure of any of player.

The 24-year-old wingman managed just 13 disposals against Port Adelaide last week and is averaging just 19.5 disposals per game this season.

It is the first time the man who finished third in the 2005 Brownlow Medal has averaged less than 20 disposals per game in a season since first establishing himself as a regular member of the Saints line-up in 2004.

However, Lyon says the Saints have not considered dropping the star wingman, who was the club's leading votegetter in the Brownlow again last season and fourth in the best and fairest.

"Dal played well (the week before) against Essendon," Lyon said.

"We understand he has been under some public scrutiny but I have lost no faith whatsoever in Nick Dal Santo."

"He is a real integral part of our midfield and we expect him to play well on Saturday night (against Richmond)."

Lyon said Dal Santo, like many star midfielders, was struggling with some of the increased attention he has been getting recently in a week in which the off-the-ball tactics used by taggers to stop the game's best players has been firmly in the public eye.

Eagles star Daniel Kerr was suspended for three weeks after headbutting Bulldog veteran Scott West, after he copped some close attention during that match, while another of the game's stars in Gary Ablett was on the receiving end from Dockers hardman Josh Carr who copped a three-game suspension for kneeing the Geelong champion.

"He (Dal Santo) is very confident and upbeat," Lyon said.

"I thought (Eagles coach) John Worsfold put the agenda on the table because star midfielders (like Dal Santo) get a lot of attention but not as much protection (from the umpires) as the star forwards."

"And clearly Nick Dal Santo gets a lot of attention (from opposition clubs)."