Stephen Robinson says Scottish Cup progress would be ‘massive’ for St Mirren

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson underlined the magnitude of his side’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup tie against Hearts as he highlighted the rewards on offer for sealing a quarter-final berth.

The all-Premiership clash is the last of the fifth-round ties and takes place on Monday night live on television.

St Mirren are in eighth place in the league, behind Neil Critchley’s rejuvenated Jambos who are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions on goal difference, and Robinson spoke of the benefits of a win over the Jambos.

He said: “It’s massive, because it can carry a lot of momentum.

“You get that result, it carries momentum into the remaining eight games before the split.

“You get a real feel-good factor around the place as well. And again, it raises the profile of the football club and it raises finances.

“We are one of the only teams without a real benefactor that pumps in millions of pounds. So every penny counts for us, and the cups are certainly a good way to get them.

“I think Neil’s a very good manager. I know him from England and his achievements, they’ve recruited very well, they’ve been backed heavily in terms of bringing players in. So we know what a task we face.

“Hearts are a big club. They have a good squad and for me, they were in a false position early on in the season.

“Sometimes that happens in this league but we’re expecting a very tough evening and we have to be right at the top of our game.

“It’s strange. We’re only two points down on what we achieved last season at this stage. So it’s everything to play for, absolutely everything to play for.

“You can see some of the results are crazy results. You expect teams to win and they don’t. Everyone’s beating each other.

“It’s such a tight, tight league this year. So it’s all the play for both in terms of the relegation and the top six.

“You can be two or three wins from being a top four side, but you’re also looking over your shoulder. So it’s exciting.”