St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson admits he is “absolutely delighted” that Jim Gillespie is remaining at the club after being linked with the chief executive role at Rangers.
Gillespie, vice-chairman at the Buddies and chief executive of the Kibble charity, was reportedly a front-runner for the key position at Ibrox but is now said to be happy to remain in Paisley.
Robinson said that Gillespie had been a major factor in persuading him to join the club and, after back-to-back top-half finishes and a long-awaited return to Europe, someone who was constantly trying to drive standards up.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” the St Mirren manager said. “I think it’s a huge bonus for St Mirren. It’s a real, real bonus.
“At every football club, you need a driver. You need somebody that has ambition and vision and that’s what sold me the football club.
“He’s been true to his word that he’s drove this football club. Previously, I believe that people would have been happy with gong up and down and maybe finishing third from bottom. Now, it’s not even in our talk.
“All through this situation I’ve spoken to Jim on a daily basis. All we talk about is St Mirren and how we drive it forward, how we recruit in the next window, how we do it again and how we better the facilities and staff.
“I think he’s a vital, vital part of this football club, moving forward.”
Though the links to Rangers continued throughout the summer, Robinson said that he never saw any loss of focus and that Gillespie was working continually to see where improvements could be made at his current club.
“I know Jim is staying but he’s never wavered from St Mirren,” the manager added. “The whole time this has been in the press, it’s none of my business about other clubs or Jim’s personal business, all I’ve ever spoken to him about is making St Mirren better.
“His full focus with me in conversations has been St Mirren and that remains exactly the same. I’m delighted because you always fear that if the person driving the football club leaves then what comes next?
“It’s certainly a huge plus for St Mirren.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s Premiership match against Kilmarnock, Robinson revealed that the squad had suffered a blow with news that Alex Iacovitti has been ruled out until around Christmas. Ongoing concerns over Richard Taylor’s fitness mean he is looking at defensive cover.
SNS Group“Alex is going to be out until round about Christmas time with a tendon injury,” he said. “That’s disappointing.
“We’ve also got Richard Taylor struggling a little bit with a hernia, which is an ongoing thing from last season. It’s only a matter of time before he needs the operation.
“So there’s a bit of a concern in that left-sided centre-half position.”
The manager noted that Shaun Rooney, Elvis Bwomono and Scott Tanser could all shift into the centre of defence if needed but also admitted he may look for a free agent on a short term deal. Charles Dunne, who came to the end of his contract in the summer is still training with St Mirren but his preference is to find a club abroad.
Robinson did have better news on the attacking front with Greg Kiltie back in training and after striker Kevin van Veen was signed at the end of the transfer window.
“Kevin’s excellent,” he said. “Sometimes people get pictures painted of them and until you get up close and work with them [you don’t know them].
“He’s fitted in really well. He’s open to everything and wants to work and he acknowledges he is maybe three to four weeks behind in terms of fitness.
“But there’s no denying his quality. He’s been at this level and proved that he’s very, very effective and he’s shown in training some of his quality and class.
“He’s embraced everything we’ve done, raised the mood and I believe he’s raised the standard of the other strikers.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
