Stephen Robinson feeling good about new season after St Mirren cup win

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is in an optimistic mood ahead of the new cinch Premiership season after his side ended a disappointing Premier Sports Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over FC Edinburgh on Saturday.

Defeats by Arbroath and Airdrie had sent Saints crashing out before they rounded off their group duties with victory thanks to a Mark O’Hara penalty and a double from former Morecambe striker Jonah Ayunga, who scored four of their five goals in the tournament.

Robinson was also encouraged by the debut of former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder Keanu Baccus plus the performances of teenagers Kieran Offord, Dylan Reid and Fraser Taylor.

Robinson told SMTV: “We haven’t got the results we set out to but now we have got Baccus in who I thought looked very, very good considering the amount of travelling the boy has done and the lack of training. He has not trained for three weeks and he has been training with kids and on his own, so he will only get better.

“We got another 90 minutes into Ryan Strain so it’s starting to take shape now.

“And some of the young boys that featured look like they could be very, very promising.

“Kieran is 17, he doesn’t play like a 17-year-old. He puts himself about, he is a clever player and is certainly very effective. The other kids that came on, Dylan Reid and little Fraz, were excellent. (Taylor) was excellent and if we can just get him a few more dinners and get him a bit stronger, he has got so, so much talent.

“There were some very good performances. Jonah Ayunga, for 55 minutes until he scored his second goal, was excellent. Jonah can be anything he wants and we are going to keep driving him and driving him because he could be a huge asset to the football club.”