St Mirren legend Tony Fitzpatrick wishes the World Cup break hadn’t disrupted his Buddies’ brilliant start to the season.
But the Saints ambassador is quietly confident the Paisley side will return refreshed and ready to pick up exactly where they left off when the final whistle is blown on the competition in Qatar.
St Mirren’s players return to training today after a two-week break away from Ralston.
Led by Stephen Robinson, the in-form side currently sit just four points off Aberdeen in third place after their best start to a Premiership campaign in more than three decades.
Fitzpatrick believes the Buddies have the strength in depth now to finally make their top-six dream a reality — as long as they stick to the principles that have fired them into such a promising league position.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Fitzpatrick said: “I hate this break to be honest. We had a lot of good momentum going before the World Cup started and I definitely would rather it hadn’t come along after the excellent start we’ve had.
“I’m confident it won’t hamper us because this group in particular has a very strong mindset. We’ve got an experienced side and at the end of the day the break is the same for everyone.
“I’ve really enjoyed this season so far. Especially at home, we’ve proven we can beat anyone.
“In the past, we’ve had to let our best players go to balance the books. That isn’t the case now and the boys we’ve got coming in off the bench are international level.
“Guys like Eamonn Brophy, Alex Gogic, Joe Shaughnessy have all come in when needed and performed for us.
“Alex Greive has come off the bench and scored a few winners lately too. Nobody is sulking on the bench, everyone just wants to contribute.
“There’s been a lot of investment in the stadium, the training ground and the squad in recent years.
“We’ve got a very strong squad now and we should be challenging for Europe this season, there’s no doubt about it.”
The Buddies will finally return to action after the World Cup on Saturday, December 17 with a trip to Fir Park to take on Motherwell.
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