Stephen Robinson spoke of “real exciting times ahead” after being appointed as the new St Mirren manager.
The Paisley club secured the Northern Irishman’s release from English League One side Morecambe and he takes over from Jim Goodwin, who left for Aberdeen last week.
Robinson, boss of Motherwell between 2017 and 2020, agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with St Mirren and will be joined by Morecambe first-team coach and former Irish League striker Diarmuid O’Carroll who becomes his assistant manager.
Robinson told the club’s official website: “It’s an absolute honour that St Mirren have come in and were willing to pay the compensation.
“It came out of the blue and when I spoke to the guys at the club it really impressed me what they are trying to do.
“We spoke in-depth about where we can take the club and there’s real exciting times ahead.
“With the foundations that have already been built by Jim [Goodwin] it’s up to me to take them on and build on what’s already been done.”
Robinson guided Motherwell to the League and Scottish Cup finals in 2017-18 and achieved a third-place finish in the 2019-20 season which secured Europa League football for the Steelmen.
St Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: “We are all delighted to welcome Stephen as the new manager of St Mirren.
“Stephen fits the profile of what we are looking for in a manager.
“He has great experience of the Scottish game and had good success on the park with Motherwell which saw him reach the finals of both the League and Scottish Cups as well a third-place finish and qualification for the Europa League.
“Stephen also did a tremendous job of developing young players at Motherwell which was an important consideration for us with the St Mirren Youth Academy one of the main pillars of our football club.
“We would like to thank Morecambe FC for their co-operation in getting this deal completed.”
St Mirren chairman John Needham said: “We are excited to name Stephen as our new manager.
“At such a vital stage of the season it was crucial that we moved quickly to get the best candidate in place, and we are thrilled to welcome Stephen to the club.
“The board of directors must give great credit to Tony Fitzpatrick who ensured there were a number of great options for us to consider following Jim Goodwin’s departure.”
