Stephen Robinson admits his days of believing in lucky pants are well behind him. But he won’t stop his Buddies pulling up a charmed pair of socks or lacing up the same pair of boots if it helps them believe they can make lightening strike twice against Celtic this Sunday.
St Mirren are hoping to repeat the trick and topple the Hoops again on their home turf this weekend, having dished out a dominant 2-0 defeat to Ange Postecoglou’s side the last time they visited Paisley in September last year.
While Robinson won’t be donning the same outfit as that impressive victory, Celtic’s only domestic loss so far this season, the manager insists he’ll back any superstitions his players have if it helps them replicate the same performance and result on the park this Sunday afternoon.
Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I used to be ridiculously superstitious. I used to wear the same socks, same suit, same shoes – whatever had worked previously.
“Then I realised if my goalkeeper drops the ball at a key moment, it’s nothing to do with what socks I’m wearing. If my player doesn’t pass to the right player, it doesn’t matter what hair gel I’ve put on that morning.
“My missus gave me a lucky feather and she still believes that works. I’m going to maybe try that on Sunday!
“But seriously, I think I’ve become a bit more pragmatic over time.
“There’s plenty of people here that still believe in that stuff. They’ll wear the same bit of kit, the same hoody or same boots. You see footballers going out the tunnel last and I was the same as a player. At Luton I’d always try to go out last and touch the sign above the door.
“As you get older you get a bit more cynical and think it’s all a load of rubbish. You win or lose if you play well, or don’t play well.
“But if players can mentally get themselves one percent better from it, then they can do whatever it takes.
“Those small differences when you play big games can be massive. Any game in the Premiership, they’re all so competitive.
“If it makes a difference to their mental state going into the game, then 100 percent do it.”
While there was little fortunate about St Mirren’s comfortable win against Celtic earlier this season, Robinson knows he’ll need lady luck on his side to repeat the feat against Postecoglou’s men who arrive on the back of a morale-boosting League Cup final win against fierce rivals Rangers.
The St Mirren manager insists the Paisley club’s home form can give his side the boost they need to pick up another sensational Old Firm victory this season.
Robinson said: “We’ve beaten Celtic here and we were four or five minutes away from beating Rangers at home as well.
“We’ve got a brilliant home record, a fantastic home record and the place will be sold out. The fans will be right behind the players and they know what we give.
“You do need luck for everything, in terms of decisions, VAR decisions, the referees and what they look at.
“I think I’d rather be a lucky manager than a good manager. I might not be either, I have to say, but a little bit of luck along the way certainly helps in these games.”
St Mirren will leave it as late as they possibly can to rule out injured stars hoping to return in time to face Celtic.
The Buddies hope to welcome back Keanu Baccus, Alex Greive and Scott Tanser after they returned to training this week.
Joe Shaughnessy is also recovering from a knock he picked up against St Johnstone, while Declan Gallagher remains out with a hamstring injury. Jonah Ayunga had an operation yesterday on his knee, having already been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Robinson added: “The squad is a bit healthier. Shaughnessy pulled up after the game on Saturday, so we’ll see. Hopefully we can get a few back but they need to train well.
“Keanu, Tanser and Greive all need to get through training today [Thursday] and then we’ll see if they have a reaction. Hopefully our bench will be more experienced than it has been the last two games.
“You get periods like this. We knew when we let people go in January, if we got a couple of injuries in the same position we’d be in a bit of a crisis. Lo and behold we had Jonah and Alex.
“It does become a problem, but we’re getting through that. To get four points from the last two games and remain unbeaten with those injury problems is fantastic.”
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