St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson believes that finishing in the top-half with his current Buddies side would be the best achievement of his career - despite managing a third-placed finish with Motherwell.
Robinson has been one of the Scottish Premiership managers of the season so far this campaign with the Buddies chasing European football despite being tipped by many for the drop before a ball was kicked. They currently sit in fifth place, just six points behind third-placed Hearts in the battle for European football.
If they continue their incredible run of form, the Saints could be optimistically looking towards their first glance at European football since the 1987/88 - a great achievement for a club that has not even finished in the top half of the top-flight since 1985. And Robinson has gone as far to say that it tops his other achievements so far in his managerial career - including a third-placed finish with Motherwell, European qualification and competing in both cup finals in the 2017-18 season.
Robinson said: “I have finished third before, got into Europe, won games in Europe and got to cup finals, but if we achieved top six that would arguably be my biggest achievement considering the backdrop, in terms of the finances and cuts and redundancies.
“It has been a tough challenge. There has been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things sent to test us early on, and we have been dealing with financial things since the start of the season. I repeat myself, it is a credit to the staff here that the players know no difference in terms of the staff cuts and what we have had to do, and it is a huge credit to the players that they have continued to perform and out-perform probably what is expected of them.
“I have had support from the board within their means and we are working together to bring the club into a financial position where it is viable and trying to maintain our form on the pitch. When I came in, everyone seemed to be going in different directions. Now everyone seems to be pulling in the same direction, the fans, the board, the players and staff, and it is amazing what you can achieve when everyone believes in the same thing.
“So certainly it would be a super-achievement, not just for me but for everybody involved, from the board all the way down, it would be a superb achievement. It is something to aim for but let's concentrate on Saturday. It is a tough game against a very good side with an excellent manager. They are well-organised and have a talented squad.”
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