Stephen Robinson insists St Mirren deserve to be ahead of Rangers in table

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson insists it is no fluke that his team are ahead of Rangers in the cinch Premiership.

The Northern Irishman has urged his players to continue showing the belief that has put them second in the table as they bid to extend their lead over visitors Rangers on Sunday.

St Mirren are unbeaten in the league this season while Rangers lost three games before sacking Michael Beale.

The Paisley side have also scored more goals than their weekend opponents and Robinson wants his team to take that form into the match.

“There is a huge belief in the squad, they buy into absolutely everything,” the former Motherwell manager said.

“We are very well organised, we play some very, very good football, been very creative and scored goals.

“When you look statistically with us against Rangers, we are on a par with them. It isn’t by luck or chance.

“We go into the game knowing we need to produce that with that incentive to go clear of them.

“They will obviously have the incentive to get their season back up and running and close the gap.”

Rangers have lost their last two matches with Steven Davis beginning his spell as caretaker manager with a 2-1 Europa League defeat against Aris Limassol on Thursday.

Robinson said: “It’s up to us to put our stamp on the game.

“It gives us an opportunity at this early stage of the season to gain a six-point advantage on Rangers, which would be fantastic for us.

“But we take the game in isolation. We go into the game confident, we have been playing well and getting results and I believe we can cause Rangers problems.

“We have to be at the top of our game. We are under no illusions – they are still a very good side with very talented players.”