NOT so long ago you would have got shorter odds on the Loch Ness monster being called up for the Scotland squad than you would on Danny Lennon picking up a Manager of the Month award.
Such was the beleaguered state of his St Mirren side - winless, shorn of confidence and only kept off the bottom of the SPFL Premiership table by a Hearts team hindered by a 15-point handicap - that it seemed the only thing coming Lennon's way was his P45. This particular Paisley pattern, however, has since changed dramatically.
St Mirren have become a team revitalised, Lennon's unshakeable belief that this group of players would come good for him belatedly being vindicated. Should St Mirren defeat Hibernian on Saturday it would be their fifth victory in six matches, the three league wins accrued in November likely to give Lennon a real chance of being crowned the division's leading manager for that month.
Subtle changes have been at the heart of this renaissance, moves that have brought the best out of certain individuals. It has also involved the manager swallowing a hefty dose of his pride. Jim Goodwin has been restored to midfield, despite Lennon's earlier assertion that his captain was of more use to him in defence. In from the cold came centre-half Lee Mair - told previously he was free to leave the club - and Darren McGregor, back to full fitness after recovering from a second cruciate ligament injury in two years. Young full-backs Sean Kelly and Jason Naismith, aged 20 and 19 respectively, have been given their chance and have added dynamism and energy down the flanks.
Midfielders Paul McGowan, Kenny McLean, Conor Newton and John McGinn have all been restored to positions where they feel more comfortable, allowed to indulge their natural inclination to attack in the knowledge that Goodwin will be prowling behind them. Steven Thompson has started receiving better service and the goals have subsequently started to flow again for the striker. An experienced goalkeeper in Marian Kello has provided greater reassurance at the back.
The changes have not suited everybody. Lennon brought eight players to the club in the summer and now only Newton, on a second loan spell from Newcastle United, is playing regularly. Goalkeeper David Cornell, a temporary recruit from Swansea City, started the season before being dropped in favour of Christopher Dilo, who subsequently got injured to be replaced by Kello. Gary Harkins struggled to fit into Lennon's system, his style seemingly too similar to McGowan's, and was dropped. Danny Grainger lost his place to Kelly after a ban, Jake Caprice and Stephane Bahoken have featured only sporadically, while Kealan Dillon has yet to make his competitive debut.
Many of the changes to the team, then, were enforced but, regardless, they have had the desired outcome. St Mirren have stretched clear of both the automatic relegation berth (there is now an 18-point gap) and the play-off berth (they are five clear of Kilmarnock) and have bounded up to eighth place. They have perhaps been fortunate in the way the fixtures have fallen - of the four matches they have won this season only one, St Johnstone, was against a team in the top half of the table - although it could also be argued it is more important to take points off the teams around you rather than those at the top. Hibs are only a point further ahead. "We're looking up the table now," said McLean.
The midfielder has been a key part in St Mirren's upturn in fortunes, showing the sort of form that drew scouts in previous seasons. He admitted the restoration of self-belief has been a contributory factor to his side's resurgence.
"Beating Ross County [on Sunday] was a big win. Confidence is a massive thing [for players]," he added. "Before we were just on a major downer. If we get above Hibs then our goal has to be top six. We're definitely capable of it."
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