BOTH sets of supporters heading to the Simple Digital Arena this lunchtime may do so with a sense of foreboding, with the two sides perhaps just a result away from what could be deemed a crisis. These things are all relative of course, with the Buddies wishing they had Rangers’ problems, but there is no doubt that a win for St Mirren this afternoon would set alarm bells ringing around Ibrox.

Thankfully for the men in blue, that possibility seems unlikelier than Neil Lennon popping into the Tynecastle Arms for a swift half tonight. The Saints were truly awful against Motherwell during the week, and there may already be a spot of panic setting in around Paisley about the plight of last season’s Championship winners.

For them, the result today is almost immaterial. Anything, even avoiding a morale-sapping thumping, may be viewed as a bonus. It is the match against fellow strugglers Dundee next week that matters more. Lose that, and it will be as black and white as their famous jerseys; St Mirren will be in crisis mode.

Surveying the gloomy scene on Wednesday evening, it barely seems possible that the triumphant scenes that greeted their Championship win were just six months ago. St Mirren have summarily failed to cope with the step up in level, and even this early in the season, appear to be in a straight shootout with Dundee, Hamilton and perhaps Motherwell to avoid a quick return to the second tier. While Livingston, who finished 12 points behind the Saints last season, are confounding expectations and riding high in the Premiership, St Mirren are floundering. So, where has it all gone wrong?

Well, the departure of Jack Ross is the obvious place to start, and had St Mirren been able to hold onto him, it is likely that they wouldn’t be in such a position. But that was hardly a bolt from the blue given how far his star had risen, so attention must turn to how the club coped with his loss.

To caveat that though, there must also be a recognition of the uncertainty that the drawn-out process of Ross eventually being offered the role at Sunderland created. He travelled south for talks with Ipswich after all in the second week of May, but his departure to Wearside wasn’t sealed until towards the end of the month. St Mirren knew they were going up, but any head start on preparations for the Premiership was lost to the search for a new manager.

When that search was complete, Alan Stubbs was the man to take the reins. One of the immediate problems he faced was the loss of star man, Lewis Morgan, who had made his move to Celtic. From the Championship-winning squad, Harry Davis, Stelios and Liam Smith also took their leave, but while departures were minimal in number, those who arrived in their place failed to excite.

Two graduates from Jamie Vardy’s ‘V9’ Academy were first through the door under Stubbs, with Cody Cooke and Josh Heaton arriving from the dizzying heights of Truro and Darlington respectively. A further 11 players arrived in total during the window, but it wasn’t long before whispers of dressing room disquiet started to surface.

The squad unity that had been the hallmark of Ross’s time in charge seemed decimated, and captain Stephen McGinn publicly criticising the lack of experience brought to the club by his manager in the press was a telling sign that all was not well.

By the time Saints shipped four goals in the first half of their visit to Tynecastle, something had to give. And it was Stubbs’s job. Three months after arriving, he was gone.

Oran Kearney, who had interviewed for the position in the summer, was handed the task of picking up the pieces. So far, he too has found it difficult to get a tune out of this group of players, with just one draw and now six defeats on the bounce to his name since taking over.

Even more worrying were his comments after the midweek defeat to Motherwell, when he said that his players were taking the easy option and ignoring his instructions by going long, and it all rather begs the question of when this group are going to take a look at themselves and assume some responsibility for the club’s plight?

Mistakes have been made from the top down, of course. Chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick and owner Gordon Scott would likely admit that. They are moving to remedy those by bringing in Gus MacPherson as technical director and imminently, Jimmy Nicholl, but you’ll never convince me that they – and Fitzpatrick in particular – don’t have the best interests of St Mirren at heart.

I just wonder how many of the current crop of players could say the same.