No one can blame Stephen Robinson for enjoying the fact his brilliant Buddies have proved many pundits wrong this season.
At the start of the season several football ‘experts’ were quick to stick the boot into the Saints and predict they were heading straight for a relegation battle - and worse..
Admittedly, when St Mirren suffered a rather shocking League Cup exit at the hands of Arbroath and Airdrie, there were legitimate question marks around what kind of campaign the Paisley club were heading for.
And after a couple of opening Premiership defeats at the hands of Motherwell and Aberdeen, the pundits probably thought they were about to be proven right.
But as has been made abundantly clear in the weeks and months that have followed that shaky start, this St Mirren team are made of seriously stern stuff.
Robinson was slowly drilling his ideas into the team and September’s shock 2-0 win against previously unstoppable Celtic was understandably a major turning point.
If ever the players needed proof of the potential success of the style the gaffer was implementing, it was that incredibly dominant win against Ange Postecoglou’s Hoops.
The club’s overall recruitment this season has been superb. As Robinson alluded to in his interview this week, many pundits were quick to write off the likes of Jonah Ayunga, Keanu Baccus and Ryan Strain simply because they hadn’t previously heard of them.
Well, they certainly know all about them now. Baccus was one of Australia’s top performers at the World Cup in Qatar, giving Lionel Messi and co a scare in their dramatic last-16 clash with Argentina.
And Ayunga was also making headlines after netting against Celtic and Rangers before his season was cruelly cut short by injury.
The acquisition of the likes of Mark O’Hara, Trevor Carson and Declan Gallagher should have also been key indicators that St Mirren would have a strong campaign.
That trio have heaps of experience in the Scottish game and have all played a huge part in their successful season so far, particularly O’Hara who must be in with a shout of making the SPFL Team of the Season come the end of the year.
Last Saturday’s win against Hearts was just the latest example of St Mirren’s well-drilled system getting the better of a team with a much bigger budget and, on paper, stronger players.
But looking at the performance of the two teams at Tynecastle, it would have been hard to pick which were supposed to be the favourites and which had more financial clout behind them.
That is a testament to both Robinson and the players, who continue to punch well above their weight.
The level will, of course, go up a notch tomorrow when the Buddies travel through to Ibrox.
Rangers are yet to suffer a defeat at home in the league this season and will be smarting from their narrow defeat to bitter rivals Celtic last weekend.
But as we’ve seen this season, Robinson’s system is designed to level the playing field. Hitting on the counter is this team’s speciality, and that’s exactly how they’ll be aiming to topple Micheal Beale’s side tomorrow.
Naturally, the Buddies will have to keep things tight at the back. They’ll also need to be clinical with their chances, as they were at Tynecastle.
But while all the pundits will most likely back a Rangers win, the Buddies faithful can rightly have hope of a positive result in Govan.
This hard-working, talented team have already upset the odds numerous times this season.
If they can manage a win tomorrow, a top-six spot is theirs to savour.
And no one will deserve to celebrate that more than Robinson who has proven the old adage that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
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