Stephen Robinson: Top-six finish with St Mirren would be my greatest achievement

Stephen Robinson believes a top-six cinch Premiership finish with St Mirren would arguably be his finest managerial achievement to date.

The Buddies boss celebrated a year in the job this week with his side in fifth place in the table following the 1-0 home win over Ross County last weekend.

Robinson, who reached two cup finals with Motherwell and took the Fir Park side into Europe, is working under financial constraints at St Mirren, who in January posted a loss of £1.6million for the period between May 2021 and May 2022.

Ahead of the trip to Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone on Saturday, where St Mirren would go above Hibernian into fourth place with a win, Robinson looked back at his eventful year in charge and considered the significance of a top-half finish.

The former Morecambe manager said: “I have finished third before, got into Europe, won games in Europe and got to cup finals, but if we achieved top six that would arguably be my biggest achievement considering the backdrop, in terms of the finances and cuts and redundancies.

“It has been a tough challenge. There has been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things sent to test us early on, and we have been dealing with financial things since the start of the season.

“I repeat myself, it is a credit to the staff here that the players know no difference in terms of the staff cuts and what we have had to do, and it is a huge credit to the players that they have continued to perform and out-perform probably what is expected of them.

“I have had support from the board within their means and we are working together to bring the club into a financial position where it is viable and trying to maintain our form on the pitch.

“When I came in, everyone seemed to be going in different directions. Now everyone seems to be pulling in the same direction, the fans, the board, the players and staff, and it is amazing what you can achieve when everyone believes in the same thing.

“So certainly it would be a super-achievement, not just for me but for everybody involved, from the board all the way down, it would be a superb achievement.

“It is something to aim for but let’s concentrate on Saturday. It is a tough game against a very good side with an excellent manager. They are well-organised and have a talented squad.”