Danny Lennon, the
St Mirren manager, has warned his players to forget the Scottish Communities League Cup final and focus on pushing for a top-six place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
St Mirren have been revelling in Sunday's semi-final win over Celtic but Lennon has been trying to restore normality ahead of a Clydesdale Bank Premier League match with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in Paisley.
Lennon said: "The boys were in yesterday preparing for an equally important game on Wednesday. It is fantastic to be in the final but we have to focus on the immediate future. All that happened yesterday was that the boys came in with bigger smiles on their faces and a bigger bounce in their step.
"It's a normal working week, the boys who played did their recovery and the boys who didn't trained.
"We're looking forward to welcoming Inverness, who for many people are the team of the season so far. They have upset the odds and are sitting pretty in the SPL, playing entertaining football and scoring a lot of goals.
"However, the league is very tight from top to bottom, we are 12 points off second place. A victory can certainly narrow the gap and take us that little bit closer."
The Paisley side finished in their highest league placing for 25 years last season when they were eighth, although failed to live up to their early season promise.
They are currently 11th but, with Paul McGowan back from the shoulder injury that kept him out for three months, Lennon is aiming to surge up the table.
"I don't want the final to keep coming up before every league game," he added. "We have to wrap it up in a box and it's going to be a great occasion for everyone associated with the club but the games between now and the final are our sole focus.
"We may be second bottom but it's so tight, we are five points off the top six. We want to progress at this club, keep developing players and using our financial resources sensibly. We are still in the Scottish Cup and we want to finish higher up the league than last year."
Jordan Gibbons told how Scotland internationalist Jamie Mackie played a role in sealing his loan move to Inverness. The Queens Park Rangers winger yesterday joined Leeds United defender Charlie Taylor in a double signing for the Highland club.
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