Defender Richard Taylor insists playing at packed stadiums like Tynecastle on a Friday night are exactly why he joined the Buddies.
And the 22-year-old centre back hopes he’ll get another taste of an electric atmosphere when St Mirren travel to Celtic Park on Wednesday evening.
Taylor joined the Saints at the start of the month, having played in front of much smaller crowds last year in the second tier of Irish football with Waterford.
The former Burnley youth prospect looked right at home on one of the biggest stages in Scottish football during his first start against Hearts, putting in some crucial blocks to keep his side in the game.
Now he’s determined to do the same again should he keep his place in the starting XI against current Premiership title holders Celtic.
Taylor told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was an eventful game against Hearts and it was good to get going again.
“This is the standard. These games are the reason I came here and I’m looking forward to more of the same.
“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed being so busy and making so many blocks, but that’s my job and I’ll do it when I need to.
“We’ve got a great team. We’ve got leaders in the squad and everyone wants to work for each other. We want to get the best outcome we can out of every game.
“We’ve got a great side so we don’t fear going to Celtic. We’ve got all the means to get a result there.
“We’re so close to improving our away record and I’m sure we’re going to get there. We just need to keep pushing and we’ll get there eventually.
“We’ve got to go harder. The first half of the season is done and we need to go again and try and get as high up the table as we can.
“I would love to play at Celtic Park. The atmosphere will be amazing, so I’m looking forward to the challenge if I get the nod.
“You just have to look at the players we’ve got to see why teams don’t like playing us.
“We’ve got a lot of players that can cause a lot of trouble to the teams at the top end of the league.”
Despite having been substituted off at the time, Taylor echoed his manager Stephen Robinson’s view that St Mirren should have been handed a penalty at Tynecastle when Scott Tanser’s cross hit Kye Rowles arm late on.
Taylor couldn’t understand the “poor decision”, adding: “The penalty has got to be given. I know you can’t get everything, but it was clear.
“I was off the pitch at the time, but I could definitely see it from the stand. It’s a poor decision, what else can you say.
“They definitely should have used VAR. The ref should have gone over, but for some reason he didn’t.”
READ MORE:
Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines - sign up to our free daily newsletter here
