Who’d be a football manager eh? “I’m getting greyer,” admitted the St Mirren boss, Jack Ross. Given that those strands on his heid have always been blacker than Darth Vader’s oxter, it speaks volumes for the stresses and strains of life at the coalface. For long spells this season, watching St Mirren left most hardy perennials tearing their hair out but Ross's purposeful turnaround of the Paisley club’s fortunes continues to see optimism grow.
Having enjoyed a renaissance in the new year, St Mirren, once cast adrift at the foot of the table, are now just point behind Ayr United in the relegation play-off place and three from outright safety. The rewards for a sparkling run of results, which have included wins over Hibernian, Dundee United and a 6-2 trouncing of Ayr last weekend, came in the shape of the Ladbrokes Manager of the Month award yesterday but Ross is not one to rest on the laurels. In St Mirren’s current predicament, he can’t afford to. "I love the job but it engulfs you,” he said. “Is it what I think about pretty much all the time? Yes, it is.”
Since ringing the changes in the January transfer window, Ross has watched his various gambles, wheelings and dealings bear fruit as St Mirren continue a rousing salvage operation.
“Because of the size of the club and the attention on the club, every time we didn’t win it was a disaster,” he reflected. “That was difficult for people at the club to deal with. It almost feels if you don’t win we’re down, we’ll not get out of this. It’s hard to change that mentality but the players have dealt with that pressure.”
The exchanges with a few brassed off supporters in the aftermath of a sorry 3-0 home reversal to Queen of the South earlier in the year may have brought negative storylines at the time but there have been positive offshoots. It’s good to talk, after all.
“I would like not to do it again and I don’t think I will but I felt it was appropriate at the time,” he said of the conversations in the stands. “It was done from the heart. The amount of letters, emails and phone calls I got was incredible. I think there was a realisation that we needed to be united because of our position. It wasn’t done with any preconceived motive but there was risk involved in it. The response I got from the fans gave me comfort afterwards. I realised that there are a heck of a lot of supporters who have a huge passion for the club and wanted to get out of this position. That reassured me and others that the passion is there. If that is still there then if you get it right on the park, the passion will come out again.
“I always believed we’d get out of this. I’ve said that consistently even though some may have thought I wasn’t telling the truth.”
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