Mark O'Hara revealed his Buddies are "desperate" to see their boss Stephen Robinson stay in Paisley.
The St Mirren manager has been consistently linked with the vacant Northern Ireland post after the IFA sacked Ian Baraclough, with the 47-year-old still one of the bookies' favourites for the job.
O'Hara, who has donned the armband this season in Joe Shaughnessy's absence, believes the Saints are in for a memorable Premiership season if they can manage to keep hold of Robinson.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, O'Hara said: "The whole squad are desperate for him to stay.
"He's got a real understanding of the players and we've got a real chance of doing something special this season if he does stay.
"It's no surprise that he's been linked with them because he's a very good manager and a great manager of players. His tactics are brilliant too.
"I'm hoping he's St Mirren manager for the rest of the season. We want to be successful and he's key to that."
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