Stephen Robinson insists his battling Buddies have been defying the odds all season.
Now the St Mirren boss is determined to steer his side over the top-six finish line to help boost the Paisley club’s financial recovery.
The Saints had to restructure and reduce their staff at the start of the season to combat a significant £1.6 million loss in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite those painful cutbacks off the field, the Buddies have nonetheless been thriving on the pitch.
Robinson’s men are now just 90 minutes away from their first top-half finish since 1985 with a draw or win against Kilmarnock at the SMiSA Stadium this Saturday coming enough to guarantee they finish the right side of the split.
A defeat for either Hibs and Livingston would also be enough for the Buddies. And Robinson insists it’s a credit to everyone involved with the club they are in with such a strong chance of finally making their top-six dream a reality; an achievement which would also strengthen their bank account.
Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “Had you offered me this position at the start of the season I would have taken it, 100 per cent.
“This group of players have defied the odds. There are no structures in place for us to be a top-six side.
“But at this moment in time we’re trying to change that and certainly getting into the top six would go a long way financially to that.
“The amount of staff we have in comparison to anyone else in the top flight is incredible and we’ve managed to defy the odds.
“It’s a credit to everyone involved with the football club. We’re turning a corner.
“For me and the group of staff and players, it would be a huge achievement to make the top six.
“We aim to do that against Kilmarnock and we have a lot of positivity. We go into the game trying to win it – we won’t just try and get a point.
“We are confident we can go and get three points and that’s how we approach every game.”
St Mirren almost upset the bookies at Ibrox on Saturday, with the club hanging on to a point that would have been enough to nail down a top-six spot before this weekend’s visit of relegation-battling Killie.
While Rangers’ strength in depth ultimately proved too big a gap to bridge late on, Robinson was pleased with much of the Buddies overall performance in Govan.
Understandably, he highlighted Mark O’Hara’s influence in particular, with the midfielder notching his 11th and 12th goals of the season in style.
Robinson said: “With 15 minutes remaining at Ibrox with a point in your hand at 2-2, we are disappointed in the outcome.
“We are an honest group and I don’t think we had enough players playing at eight, nine or 10 [out of 10] to get a result, albeit we were in a position to.
“We got punished by mistakes. When you look at the quality they brought on as well, we were bringing on 18-year-old kids to try and change the game whereas they were bringing on international footballers. There’s a huge gap.
“That’s not an excuse though. We felt we could get something and we were in a position to, but as a collective we didn’t have enough players at the top of our game.
“Mark especially didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. It’s an incredible return of goals. The first goal – what a goal that is.
“The second goal, too, for technique through a ruck of players, was great.
“He’s a fantastic boy, a fantastic player and he’s getting his just rewards right now.
“As a group of boys we are determined to make sure we get our rewards for what’s been a terrific season.”
Robinson hopes he will be able to call on midfield star Keanu Baccus for this weekend’s vital last pre-split fixture, after the Australia international missed out on the trip to Ibrox with a niggle.
He added: “Keanu came back with an injury from being away with Australia. It’s something that needs a look and a scan and then we’ll know a little bit more.”
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