Diarmuid O’Carroll revealed St Mirren will be going all guns blazing into their next four games to ensure the Paisley club secures a “very successful season”.
Despite currently sitting in ninth in the Premiership table, the Buddies are still in the driving seat for a top half finish with just five games left before the split.
The Saints know a win in their next two league clashes, against Ross County and their game in hand on the rest Dundee, would guarantee a spot in the top six heading into a crucial Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Hearts.
The weekend after that St Mirren welcome Dundee United to the SMISA Stadium, another of the many sides currently jostling for a top half position.
And new Saints assistant manager O’Carroll believes a strong two-week period now can still ensure a memorable campaign for the club and their supporters despite their two recent defeats.
O’Carroll told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “We’ve come in at a massive point in the season.
“Obviously for ourselves personally we came in and had two very hard games.
“Hearts was at home, but the sending off killed it a little bit for us.
“At Celtic we were predominantly out of possession but we did quite well in terms of off the ball.
“Now we’ve got four games to target and really get after.
“We’ve had a little bit more time to work with the lads on the training ground now and spirits are high.
“Since the Christmas break they’ve had a good run. Pre-Christmas they were on a tough run.
“We have a very clear target for the next three or four games.
“If we get a set amount of points then we can turn this into a very successful season very quickly.”
While many felt new manager Stephen Robinson and O’Carroll had an easier job coming into a team that was on top form, there was always likely to be a bedding in period with Jim Goodwin leaving after so long at the helm.
Former Celtic and Ross County player O’Carroll revealed they’re keeping changes to a minimum in a bid to minimise the disruption to the squad’s rhythm at a crucial moment in the season.
But he’s hoping small tweaks every day in training will help yield big results on the pitch.
O’Carroll said: “Jim was fantastic here for three years and had a very clear ethos and style of play he wanted to play.
“We’ve got a lot of established Premiership players here, so they know what it’s all about.
“We’re conscious that our style is different to Jim’s. Our style is different to how we’ll build play and press against the opposition.
“We have to make small tweaks in the short term though, enough to make sure we get results but also put our stamp on it.
“In pre-season you’ll start to see a Stephen Robinson team. For now it’s about being as good as we can be in the short-term to make sure we get into the top six.
“Any major changes you make, even something like the tempo in training, can hurt the flow for the lads.
“So we’re looking to keep it nice and simple and tweak things ever so slightly on and off the ball.
“Hopefully the lads will see it’s beneficial and we’ll kick on and results will improve.”
