Jamie Langfield believes Scott Brown and Steven Naismith are both highly credible candidates to replace Jim Goodwin.
The Buddies interim-boss helped lead his boyhood club to a fightback 1-1 draw against Livingston on Saturday alongside Andy Webster and Allan McManus.
That was despite the disruption caused by Saints losing Goodwin on the morning of the game, with the ex-St Mirren manager's switch to Aberdeen made official just hours ahead of their trip to West Lothian.
Ex-Celtic legend Brown, currently player-coach at Aberdeen, and Hearts and Scotland coach Naismith are both on the shortlist to become the Buddies new manager and fit a similar profile to Goodwin when he made the step up from Alloa.
Former boss Jack Ross, Steven McGarry, Paul Lambert and Massimo Donati are also understood to be under consideration, but Langfield feels it's Brown and Naismith that fit the profile of a rising coaching star in the Scottish game.
Langfield told Express Sport: “I know there’s a lot of names being bandied about just now, but we’ve just been told we’re in charge until the right person comes in.
“So, we’ll focus on getting the boys ready for Wednesday. We’ll come back in on Monday and train and look forward to the game on Wednesday, which is another massive game for us. We want to keep this run going.
"You see from the last few years, with Jack Ross and Jim Goodwin, the club has got a way of bringing people in that fit the ethos of the club and are young, up-and-coming managers.
“These guys that you have mentioned (Brown and Naismith) fit the bill.
“It’s about coming into a club that’s well run and well looked after.
“I can only say that whoever comes in is one lucky person because they get to work with probably one of the best bunch of players I’ve seen at St Mirren in a long, long time."
