Stephen Robinson is adamant his determined Saints believe they can pull off a sensational double against Celtic tomorrow evening.
St Mirren weren’t given much hope by many of ending the Hoops’ incredible unbeaten domestic run when the pair last met at the SMiSA Stadium in September.
The Buddies deservedly took all three points though, with Mark O’Hara and Jonah Ayunga both netting to secure an impressive 2-0 victory.
The Paisley side travel to Celtic Park tomorrow night aiming to secure another against-the-odds win against Ange Postecoglou’s much-fancied side.
After matching Hearts at Tynecastle for large spells last Friday night, Saints boss Robinson firmly believes his side can repeat the feat in Glasgow and topple Celtic again – as long as they improve their decision-making in key moments in the final third.
Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I really struggle to find a negative from the Hearts performance, bar not taking our
chances.
"You have to give credit to Zander Clark as well for that incredible double save. We pressed so well and showed calmness on the ball throughout.
"Why should we not be positive going to Celtic on Wednesday night? We’ve beaten them before this season. We know it’s a tough ask, there’s no doubt about that. But what have we got to lose?
“We shouldn’t be competing against the likes of Celtic and Hearts but we are. I give nothing but credit to our staff and our players for that.
“We had 19 shots at Tynecastle. That tells you the level of our performance. If we had players that scored 20 goals a season then they wouldn’t be playing at St Mirren.
“We’ve got fantastic players, don’t get me wrong. The work-rate, the energy and the organisation is top class.
“Please don’t get away from our quality as well. We’ve got so much quality on the break. We had so many good moves on the break against Hearts, especially in the first half.
“Our final decision does sometimes let us down, but that’s something we will continue to work on and try to improve.”
The Buddies had to rely heavily on their fringe players at Tynecastle, with suspensions and injuries taking their toll on the first-team squad.
While Ethan Erhahon and Charles Dunne return from their bans, Marcus Fraser will sit out the trip to Glasgow’s east end with O’Hara also a doubt after hobbling off injured against
Hearts.
Robinson paid tribute to his players who stepped up in the capital despite a lack of game time, particularly 17-year-old Dylan Reid who impressed in midfield in the second half.
Robinson said: “Looking back at the level of performance from some of the boys against Hearts, Richard Taylor has come in having not started a game since October.
“We’re paying him absolute buttons as a professional footballer and his performance was outstanding.
“Joe Shaughnessy hasn’t played a lot this season, he put in a brilliant performance in his second game in six days.
“Ryan Flynn the same, he was outstanding. Every single player was brilliant for me on Friday night which makes the result hard to take.
“Sometimes in life you don’t get everything you deserve and I think that was the case.
“Trevor Carson hasn’t had a save to make. It was one minute of quality that beat us.
“To lose one of our most influential players so early in the game is always tough. We’ll assess Mark and hope we can roll him back out for Celtic Park.
“I thought Reid was outstanding when he came on. He didn’t look out of place physically or mentally and he’s got real belief in
himself. If we have to put the kids in then I’ve shown in the past I’m not afraid to do so.”
READ MORE:
Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines - sign up to our free daily newsletter here
