ST MIRREN’S remarkable escapology attempt is now complete. Few gave them an earthly of avoiding relegation from the Championship when they entered December rock bottom of the table, without a victory to their name and nine points from the play-off spot. League One surely beckoned.
Jack Ross and his refurbished squad, however, had other ideas and slowly but surely they began to claw back the points gap. They avoided automatic relegation by beating rivals Raith Rovers 5-0 last weekend and then, on a dramatically tense final day of the campaign, secured the draw away to champions Hibernian that also ensured they would not have to negotiate the play-offs either. There will be Championship football in Paisley next season after all and few would have bet on that outcome at the start of the year.
With Raith, eventually, securing a win at home to Ayr, St Mirren needed a point and the man to provide it was Rory Loy. Trailing to Grant Holt’s goal early in the second half, the visitors belatedly showed some urgency and on the hour mark they got their reward.
Lewis Morgan’s mazy run carried him deep into territory before the ball arrived at Loy via Kyle Magennis and Stevie Mallan, and he turned and swept a shot into the far corner. There were still a few nervy moments for St Mirren to endure as Hibs threatened to score again – Jason Cummings and Martin Boyle both came close – before referee Alan Muir eventually brought their agony to an end. The roar that greeted the final whistle was as if St Mirren had won the title rather than securing their survival on goal difference.
“When we celebrated at the end it wasn’t celebrating St Mirren finishing seventh in the Championship as we need to have bigger ambitions than that,” said Ross. “We were celebrating what we have achieved in the last few months, because that turnaround is remarkable. To come to the home of the champions, handle the occasion and come from behind, is just indicative of how they have been as a squad. It is a very happy dressing room and I’m delighted for the players.”
Survival was the sole aim for Ross following his appointment in September but already he has his sights set on loftier targets next year. He expects the crux of the St Mirren squad to hang around with him to try to realise that vision.
“In terms of the club’s pride, relegation would have been damaging, but also just in terms of putting us back a year in our goal to get to the Premiership,” he added. “What we have managed to do is create a feelgood factor and momentum that we need to carry into next season and make sure we never find ourselves in this position again - and can celebrate what Hibs are celebrating today in the future.
“I think a lot of this squad want to stay due to how much they have enjoyed it. The difficulty will be keeping the ones who attract attention - which is part of being a successful team over the past few months and having very good young players who have played a major part in that. The challenge for me is to convince them they are better served with another year with me and challenging at the other end of the table. I’m confident I can keep the majority together.”
This was a big day for Hibernian, too, even if there was nothing at stake for them having long since secured the Championship title. The presentation of the league trophy afterwards was a sweet moment for a support who have had to endure two barren seasons outside of the Premiership before securing promotion at the third time of asking.
“I didn’t know how I was going to feel getting the trophy after everything I’ve done at Celtic but that felt every bit as good,” said manager Neil Lennon. “I was trying not to get emotional but I think the older you get the more it means to you. This club has really grown on me, it’s got under my skin. I didn’t think it would but it has. And it’s a great feeling.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel