JAMIE McGRATH had expected to be watching St Mirren’s push for a top six place from the stand. Now the Irishman is ready to influence the outcome from the pitch.
McGrath appeared to have suffered a season-ending injury against Celtic earlier this month only for the specialist to deliver some unexpected good news that his shoulder would not require surgery after all.
That came as some relief to the 24 year-old and he was able to return to action ahead of schedule in Wednesday’s goalless draw with Motherwell.
With many of his team-mates having already played seven matches this month, the man from County Meath is happy to be back to pitch in.
“I got great news last week that I wasn’t going to miss the rest of the season and that I wouldn’t need surgery,” he revealed. “So I was just really working hard on it in the gym with Kevin [Bain] the physio and it’s feeling good now. It was great to get back on the pitch.
“When it happened, in the first few days afterwards I thought that was probably my season over. It was looking like four months out.
“I was trying my best to stay optimistic until I had seen the specialist so he could go through all the scans to see what the damage was. But in the back of my mind I was thinking the reality was that I would probably miss the rest of the season.
“So to get back playing so quickly was such a relief. I was gutted when I thought I was going to miss all of the run-in so it’s great that I can get back on the pitch to try to help the lads out.
“It was terrible being stuck in the stand for those games and not being able to help out. So it was brilliant to get back out there to lend a hand the other night. It’s a lot more than I had dreamt of just a few weeks back.”
Saints have drawn their last four matches and their lead over Dundee United in seventh spot stands at just two points. It makes tomorrow’s home game over Ross County a crucial one.
“It was disappointing not to get three points against Motherwell but the draw was probably a fair result,” admitted McGrath.
“So it’s important that we get the three points against County. We’ve picked up four draws on the bounce and we’re disappointed we didn’t turn one or two of them into wins.
“But it’s still in our hands to make the top six. After Saturday we have to go to Rangers away and Hamilton away but we’re still in a good position.
“County will have their tails up after beating Celtic last weekend so we need to be wary of that. They’ve got some good players so it’s definitely not going to be easy.
"But we’ll come out all guns blazing looking to get three points to put ourselves in the best position possible. We know there are teams on our tail and we want to create a bit of daylight if we can.
“Winning this one would be a massive step towards sealing our place in the top six and put us in a better situation going into the run-in. So we have to give it our all.
“I’m lucky that I’ve had a few weeks out but the lads have had a torturous month with so many games. But it’s one last push now to round off the month with a win.”
Motherwell remain outsiders for that last remaining top six spot but midfielder Allan Campbell was just pleased to have stopped the rot in Paisley after two heavy defeats in their previous matches.
READ MORE: John Kennedy breaks silence on replacing Neil Lennon at Celtic
He said “After our last couple of performances we wanted to go out against St Mirren and show a battling spirit.
“We wanted to get together as a team and come off the park knowing we had given everything and looked like a team. I think that’s how we looked.
“It was a good overall performance apart from getting the result. Coming off the back of a couple of bad results it was about grafting away and doing the basics.
“It was a bit of a shock losing those games so heavily because we had been playing decent football before that but that can happen in football. Things can be up and down. It’s about keeping a level head and staying together as a team.”
Campbell’s contract is up in the summer and he admitted he is no closer to resolving his future.
“My main focus is football. As long as I am playing and enjoying it and getting stuck in about it and doing my bit for the team then I am happy.”
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