St Mirren

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Marcus Fraser says St Mirren haven't given up hope of catching fourth-placed Kilmarnock as they chase down a spot in European football.

The Paisley side trail Derek McInnes' men by eight points, while Dundee lie just two points behind the Buddies in sixth.

"It's about us trying to get as many points as we can in these last five games," Fraser said.

"Kilmarnock have been on a decent run and are a wee bit ahead of us, but you never know what can happen. We need to concentrate on ourselves.

"The European spot is up for grabs, we know how hard it is going to be and we don’t want to take our eye off the ball.

"Last year we made the top six for the first time in a long while. We’re not just standing still. We want to get better and push up that league.’’

Stephen Robinson has challenged his players to pick up their first "marquee result" of the season when they host Rangers on Sunday.

While expecting a tough challenge from the title-chasing visitors, Fraser insists there's confidence in the St Mirren ranks.

"There’s a belief, there’s got to be," he added. "The big factor for us is that we’re at home, we’ve got a lot of fans behind us which is really big for us.

"Of course, we know Rangers are a good side. They are still in the title race so they’re going to be coming here all guns blazing, so we need to match that."

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Stephen Robinson and his side have given St Mirren fans a product worth watching, says chief operating officer Keith Lasley.

The Paisley side have enjoyed increased attendances this season as they strive for a spot in Europe after securing top six, with their most recent game against Hearts contested in front of a sold-out crowd.

Lasley says the improved atmosphere is due to hard work on and off the park, with plans to grow the club further.

"To see the gradual growth, credit's got to go to the manager and the players for creating a product that fans want to come and see," he said.

"Hopefully we can do our bit off the pitch that makes an atmosphere that's comfortable and enjoyable. If you put those two things together, hopefully the fans will buy into it.

"We want to try and do what we can to hook as many people into St Mirren. We feel as if we're making progress, but there's still a lot to do."

With a top-five finish needed to secure European football, Lasley has warned against complacency in the final weeks of the campaign.

"Stephen and his football staff have done another fantastic job, another top-six finish," he added. "It's got to be commended in terms of our competitors.

"It's down to a lot of hard work. It's not a time for giving ourselves a pat on the back. It's time for kicking on. We know what the potential rewards can be now, all focus turns to that."

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Stephen Robinson says leading St Mirren to European football for the time since 1987 would make it easier to attract players.

However, a top-five finish probably wouldn’t lead to his budget being increased for next season.

The Northern Irishman says next term’s finances were agreed before the split.

"The board are very good, we know what parameters we work under. We get supported as much as we possibly can to push on and grow the club," said Robinson.

"I knew my budget before the top six, it’s slightly raised so we might get another player.’’

Robinson is already working hard to attract players for the next campaign while they look to secure a trip to the continent.

"We’ve had lots of talks, we have lots of things ready to go waiting for final answers and for people to speak to their own parent clubs," he added.

"We’ve had a couple that have let us down, a couple that maybe agreed pre-contracts that have been enticed elsewhere.

"The English season finishes for a lot of people on Saturday and we have a lot of irons in the fire and hopefully things will start falling into place in the next couple of weeks.

"Europe would help attract players and raise our profile when you are selling the club."

European qualification would also be a fitting reward for people who work tirelessly behind the scenes at the club, Robinson believes.

"People don’t see the hard work that goes into the club," he said.

"There’s people at the stadium who work long hard hours; the cooks the cleaners, people come here at 6am and clean the building.

"We’d love to do it for them because a lot of them are St Mirren fans and have been here for a long time. All the people at the club deserve that success for their work and we aim to give them that."

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• St Mirren have lost 18 of the last 19 top-flight meetings with Rangers since a 2-1 win in December 2011.

• Rangers have won eight of their last nine league trips to St Mirren (D1), keeping seven clean sheets in the process.

• St Mirren have lost three of their last four league games (D1), including both of their last two; only from November-December have they lost three in a row in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Rangers have only won one of their last five league games (D2 L2), this after winning nine in a row beforehand. The Ibrox side are winless in three Scottish Premiership matches (D2 L1), last going four without a win in the competition in February 2017.

• Rangers' Jack Butland has recorded 18 clean sheets in the Scottish Premiership this season, at least four more than any other goalkeeper, and the most by an Ibrox shot-stopper in the top flight since Allan McGregor in 2010-11 (also 18).

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to welcome Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Here are the key points:

• Relishing the challenge of bettering last season's league position of sixth, saying the ultimate goal has to be qualifying for Europe.

• Believes there's no pressure on his side in the post-split fixtures and they approach them with "no fear".

• However, Robinson notes St Mirren are yet to have a "marquee result" against Celtic or Rangers - something he aims to change in the final five games of the campaign.

• The group has been concentrating on the mental side of the game, specifically decision making, as that determines what level players are at.

• Budget already determined for next season, though European qualification may provide scope for one more player.

• A place in Europe would be a "reward" not just for the playing squad and management, but also those who work behind the scenes, many of whom are St Mirren fans and love the club.

Rangers are keeping close tabs on St Mirren teenager Ethan Sutherland, who has been linked with Manchester City and Chelsea after the Premier League duo recently sent scouts to watch the 17-year-old as he impressed on the wing and at left-back on loan to Alloa Athletic. (Football Insider), external

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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It's a tough start to post-split life for St Mirren as they host title-chasing Rangers in Paisley on Sunday lunchtime.

With the Ibrox side struggling for league form in recent weeks, can Stephen Robinson hatch a plan that sees the Buddies beat them?

Who would be in your starting line-up? Pick your team here.

While this past weekend was fixtureless for St Mirren, all eyes will have been on Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday afternoon.

As fourth place looks to have drifted almost out of touch, the battle for fifth has only intensified and the European prize for that summit has now been confirmed.

Only an Aberdeen cup win could have prevented a fifth-place finish giving cause to get the passports out, and despite Joe Hart's best Chilavert efforts that eventuality has now been extinguished.

The battle lines are now drawn. Five fixtures, two-point lead over Dundee and five goals of a positive difference. It is not reductive to state that St Mirren's visit to Dens Park on 4 May carries all the pressure and pomp of a cup final, and may well prove to be the only difference by season's end.

If second-hand cup anxiety wasn't enough of a fix over the weekend, St Mirren also released this campaign's goal of the season contenders for public vote. All nine have their merits, but there are a couple of clear standouts for me.

Last season, as with most other Saints fans I'm sure, I would not have believed that Toyosi Olusanya would have a couple of top-flight goals to his name - far less they would be likely winners of such an award. But, here we are, and it's beautiful.

Most recently, his physical presence in winning the ball at halfway and leaving the Hearts defence in his wake was a joy to witness. At a point where a near-capacity crowd demanded someone stood up - he obliged and finished his own move with growing confidence.

However, there can be only one winner and I make absolutely no apologies for using this column to drone on about that comeback once again. In all honesty, I'll be finding ways to talk about it next season too and you'll just have to live with it.

Cometh the 97th minute, cometh the man. Starting an unlikely counter attack, mere seconds after the Saints had equalised in the 96th minute versus Aberdeen, Olusanya raced forward and ultimately found himself on the end of a pinpoint cross.

Cue the most chaotic they-think-it's-all-over-it-is-now minute or so of my life, and I have Toyosi to thank.

Vote for Toyosi. Change we can believe in.

Mark Jardine can be found on the Misery Hunters., external

We asked who you're keen to keep at St Mirren out of the pool of out-of-contract players.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Stuart: I want to keep them all. The entire squad has been brilliant and St Mirren's form only really broke when Ryan Strain got injured and Keanu Baccus left to play in the Asian Cup. That said, I don't think there has been a St Mirren manager I've trusted more than Stephen Robinson with recruitment since Jim Clunie.

Douglas: Would love to keep Alex Gogic, Ryan Strain and Baccus. Would let Jonah Ayunga and Mikael Mandron go, not good enough.

Stu: Gogic is the other side of 30 now. I hope he stays. Baccus and Strain haven't played much this season due to injuries so it would be good to see them sign on for another couple of years.

Callum: I think that Baccus will leave, especially considering his lack of starts in recent weeks. However, I feel that Gogic will stay as I’m not sure he could go to a bigger club in Scotland after already having a shot at Hibs. I also think Strain is more likely to stay than before as injuries have ruined his season and he may stick around for next year.

Dougie: Think there will be changes but hope to keep Strain and Gogic at club. Baccus has not been as good this year, in my mind due to media hype which has him playing at a higher level. I believe that has had an effect on his play.

Anon: If we lose these guys to any other Premiership teams, it'll show how impoverished we are.

With several players out of contract in the summer, clubs up and down the country are considering who they want to be involved next season.

Stephen Robinson has admitted key players will leave on free transfers, with Keanu Baccus, Ryan Strain and Alex Gogic among the names whose deals are up.

Who would you like to keep, and who would you be happy to wave goodbye to?

Let us know.

St Mirren start and finish their post-split fixtures against Old Firm opposition.

Stephen Robinson's side host Rangers on Sunday, 28 April and end the campaign with a trip to face current champions Celtic on Saturday, 18 May.

That is one of two away fixtures for the Buddies, who also visit Dundee.

St Mirren's post-split fixtures (All times BST):

• Rangers (H) - Sunday, 28 April 12:30

• Dundee (A) - Saturday, 4 May 15:00

• Kilmarnock (H) - Saturday, 11 May 15:00

• Hearts (H) - Wednesday, 15 May 19:45

• Celtic (A) - Saturday, 18 May 12:30

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In 2017, life as a St Mirren fan was very different to how it is now. In fixture 36 of a 36-game season, Jack Ross' resurgent Buddies finally confirmed that they were officially safe from relegation to the third tier.

In 2019, the wait was even longer. A nominal 38-game season, a battle from start to finish, required 40 games and four missed Dundee United penalties before safety was confirmed.

In 2020, a combination of Jon Obika, Daniel Stendel and ultimately the Coronavirus pandemic intervened at the 30th hour (of what became a 30hr season in this laboured metaphor) to lift the Saints from play-off dread to unlikely safety.

In 2021, with about three minutes of pre-split football left to play against Hamilton, our heroes endeavoured to secure a bottom-half finish from the jaws of top six nirvana.

All of this, I suppose, is an overly-long way to say that the novelty of sitting back after a mere 32 games, knowing that the scary bit is over, is very welcome.

Embracing the point at which the Scottish Premiership is splintered into the haves (us) and the have-nots (Aberdeen) is a new sensation which is being enjoyed for a second consecutive season. It's also an opportunity to be snide about other teams, and isn't that what it's really all about?

Dundee, assuming that Dens Park recovers from current Waterworld clima-geddon status in order to complete the season, followed the Buddies in securing a top table place-setting at the weekend.

Tony Docherty's side know that the gap to St Mirren in fifth and presumed European qualification is certainly chaseable. With that in mind, Stephen Robinson will allow only minimal time for satisfaction in security before demanding that final push for a further milestone in Paisley.

An expected final visit for the season to Celtic Park now out of the way, the Saints have another empty cup weekend to gather their thoughts from a hard-fought defeat before that final gauntlet begins.

Mark Jardine can be found on the Misery Hunters, external.

Pat Nevin and Richard Foster join Liam McLeod to pick over the bones of another incredible weekend of Scottish football drama.

They look back on Ross County’s historic victory over Rangers and discuss what impact it could have at both ends of the table.

They also assess the jobs done by Tony Docherty and Nick Montgomery as Dundee secure their place in the top 6 at the expense of Hibs and Motherwell.

Listen to today's episode of the Scottish Football Podcast here.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson bemoaned the injuries that disrupted his side's positive first-half display in their 3-0 defeat by Celtic.

Elvis Bwomono went off following a head knock midway through the opening half and more would follow.

"We were excellent for 45 minutes and then we can get undone by two excellent goals," Robinson said.

"Kyogo's movement for the second goal was fantastic and the delivery as well. And the first goal was a super finish.

"That's the difference in levels. The first one wasn't a clear opportunity, but they made the best of it.

"The two injuries before and at half-time stopped a bit of our momentum. It takes players time to get into the rhythm and the shape.

"Scott Tanser and Elvis going off seemed to stop our rhythm and then Greg Kiltie and Richard Taylor have to come off too.

"We maybe had five enforced changes that we didn't want to have to make. Sometimes Lady Luck isn't shining on you.

"Credit to Celtic for the quality they showed when they needed to. That's the difference in levels."

Were you at Celtic Park or see St Mirren's 3-0 defeat elsewhere?

Give us your thoughts here.

Kheredine Idessane, BBC Scotland at Celtic Park

A tale of two halves for St Mirren - pretty much like their hosts, Celtic.

They were sharp, disciplined and organised in the first half and easily repelled everything Celtic threw at them. They were dangerous on the break, too.

St Mirren had no answer, however, to Celtic upping the tempo considerably after the break and, as soon as Reo Hatate blasted in the first within eight minutes of the re-start, the Buddies' resolve dissolved.

Celtic were comfortable from there on in, but the Paisley side will look ahead with relish to the post-split fixtures and the very real possibility of European football next season.

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