Mark O’Hara keen to mark another St Mirren milestone after emotional week

St Mirren captain Mark O’Hara hopes to mark a milestone with another impressive win after a week of hugely contrasting emotions.

O’Hara lost his grandfather last Thursday night but overcame his grief to lead Saints to their first win at Ibrox in 34 years on Saturday.

The midfielder now aims to make his 100th appearance for the Buddies when they take on Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday night.

“It was a bit of a surreal 48 hours and the manager said take as much time as you need,” the midfielder said.

“I felt I had to come in Friday and I was feeling good. I think that’s what my granddad would have wanted as a massive football fan. I’m sure he would have enjoyed that on Saturday.

“He was in the stadium the week before. It was quite sudden. He was at the stadium for the Hearts game. I think it was good the fact that it was so sudden and he wasn’t then suffering.

“It was a bit of a shock to everyone but to repay him with a result on Saturday was special. I think all my family enjoyed that.”

The former Kilmarnock, Dundee, Peterborough and Motherwell midfielder admits reaching a century of appearances has been on his mind.

“I’ve never done that at a club so it’s something you set out to do,” the 29-year-old said. “When you look on the stats online you want to see the three digits. Hopefully (Wednesday’s) the night, and I’m very proud of it.

“It’s funny, I’ve never felt this settled in my career before. I think the manager has played a big part in that, bringing me here. The changing room’s definitely a big help. I’ve obviously grown up very local.

“It just seemed to all fit and we’ve achieved some success together and hopefully there’s more success to come.”

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Rangers kept Saints in the top six of the William Hill Premiership but Hearts are only a point behind.

“We need to back it up now,” O’Hara said. “Saturday was special but it’s gone now unfortunately and we want to achieve that feeling again.

“We’ve got another couple of big games this week and it’s a good opportunity to put ourselves in that top six.”