St Mirren

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson believes Diarmuid O'Carroll's move to Newcastle United was an "opportunity too good to turn down".

Robinson's assistant, who also worked with him at Motherwell and Morecambe, has moved south of the border to take charge of Newcastle's Under-21s in Premier League 2.

"Diarmuid has been fantastic for the club and he's been very good for me," said the St Mirren boss.

"But it's an opportunity to go and work for one of the richest clubs in the world, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"It's an opportunity too good to turn down.

"Diarmuid leaves with our best wishes and hopefully we can get a little partnership with Newcastle now and steal some of their players.

"I've no doubt that if he chooses to, he can go on to become a very good manager one day, if he's crazy enough to put himself in that position."

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson has addressed the media before Saturday's trip to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

Here are the key lines:

• A real positive that defender Charles Dunne has returned to the club. He's fit and can fill in for Richard Taylor, who is likely to require a hernia operation, which will keep him out for around four weeks.

• Diarmid O’Carroll leaving for Newcastle Under-21s was too good an opportunity to turn down.

• Expecting a tough game from Motherwell. Robinson believes Saturday's opponents have started the season well and play a good brand of football.

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• Motherwell failed to win all three of their league meetings with St Mirren last season (D2 L1), picking up just two points.

• St Mirren have only won one of their last six league trips to Motherwell (D2 L3), a 1-0 win in September 2023.

• Motherwell have won two of their last four home league games (D1 L1), as many as their previous 15 beforehand (W2 D6 L7).

• St Mirren have only won one of their last nine away league outings (D3 L5), a 3-1 win at Dundee in May last season.

• Toyosi Olusanya has scored in each of his last three league games; the last player to score in four straight top-flight appearances for St Mirren was Andy Dorman in April 2009, whose fourth such match in that streak was against Motherwell.

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Diarmuid O'Carroll has left St Mirren to join Newcastle United as under-21s lead coach and Brian Kerr will replace him as Stephen Robinson's assistant.

Former Dundee, Hibernian and Motherwell player Kerr had been head of first team transition with St Mirren and said, external: "I’ve been working with the manager and the first team group for a while now but to move up to assistant is something I’m really looking forward to."

Irishman O'Carroll joined St Mirren in February 2022 and has also coached with Northern Ireland.

"I’ve made memories that I will never forget," said O'Carroll. "I’ve no doubt that the club will continue to grow and prosper with the manager at the helm, and I wish everyone associated at the club, from the board to the fans, nothing but continued success."

And Robinson commented: "Diarmuid has been excellent for us. An opportunity arose and it’s a terrific opportunity for him. We wish him nothing but success and we thank him for the part he has played in our relative success as well.

"Brian was already in place and has worked with the first team for the last year as well. He will be a fantastic replacement for Diarmuid.

"We will appoint a new head of transition phase and first team coach."

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes feels "validated" after discussing his concerns around officiating in the 2-2 draw against St Mirren with Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum.

Killie had Joe Wright sent off in Paisley but McInnes was perturbed after St Mirren's Shaun Rooney escaped punishment for clashing with Kyle Vassell.

"We felt really let down on some of the decisions," said McInnes. "That has now been validated by the referee department. It was validated by a phone call that I had with Willie Collum on the Monday after the game.

"I thought it was a real low for the refereeing department, that performance."

And he added: "I feel I've always had a good line of communication with Willie when he was a referee, as a player or a manager.

"I'm not here to praise the referee department, Willie in particular, because they're being transparent. I think it's the way it should be and I'm glad that he sees it that way.

"I do think he's a guy who will make change and get things right over time and I think he'll implement a standard that's needed.

"I think we've got some really good referees and good officials in the country but we've also got a few who need some work.

"And for me it's quite galling the fact that the St Mirren player involved plays next week and Joe gets a three-game ban."

Craig Devine
Fan writer

Yes, it's perhaps too late for Toyosi Olusanya to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or, but it's becoming harder to justify his exclusion with every passing weekend. Erling who?

Another tenacious performance from the in-form striker complimented a fine all-round team performance where there were no failures on the day in black and white.

With goalscorer Richard Taylor earning man-of-the-match plaudits, and substitute Kevin van Veen offering a few classy glimpses of why Stephen Robinson was so desperate to bring him to Paisley, the mood at full time across the home stands was in stark contrast to that of the Gorgie faithful.

Truth be told, Hearts offered up very little throughout the game barring a short-lived 20-minute spell on top, before Olusanya had the net bulging with what turned out to be the winner.

After leading 2-1 at the break in their previous two fixtures before ultimately sharing the spoils, Saints shrugged off any half-time hoodoo to deservedly claim all three points.

Fast forward 24 hours later and Steven Naismith became the third Hearts manager in a row to lose their job immediately after a fixture against St Mirren, following in the footsteps of Robbie Neilson and Daniel Stendel.

It's too early to predict who Hearts will bring in, but Naismith's successor will surely be casting a nervous glance at the next fixture between the two sides, given it's becoming an unwelcome maroon tradition at this point.

St Mirren were dealt their own backroom blow when the expected departure of highly-rated assistant Diarmuid O'Carroll to Newcastle's Under-21 side was reported.

Having contributed enormously to St Mirren's recent good fortunes, his highly-capable and presumed successor Brian Kerr will have big shoes to fill.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson will promote Brian Kerr from his role as head of the club's youth academy to assistant manager with Diarmuid O’Carroll about to move to Newcastle United as their reserve/under-21 team boss after compensation was agreed with the Premier League club. (Daily Record), external

Former Sunderland and Stoke City manager Alex Neil is the early bookmakers' favourite to become Heart of Midlothian head coach, while Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes and St Mirren's Stephen Robinson are also among the contenders. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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St Mirren are on the hunt for a new assistant manager, with current number two Diarmuid O'Carroll set for a move away from the Paisley club.

The 37-year-old has been Stephen Robinson's assistant since February 2022, having previously worked with him at Motherwell and Morecambe.

O'Carroll was not present for St Mirren's 2-1 win over Hearts on Saturday and has been linked with a role with Newcastle's Under-21s.

"He is speaking to someone else at an under-21 position," said Robinson.

"Obviously, we've shown that we've got that staff in place to step up if that should happen.

"(First-team coach) Brian (Kerr) has come in and done great for me. Him and Jamie Langfield were a big part of the set-play. Credit to both of them, they've worked on the set-plays all week."

Robinson also praised "talisman" Toyosi Olusanya, whose goal ended St Mirren’s run of seven games without a win against struggling Hearts, who have since sacked head coach Steven Naismith.

"I don't know what the stats are but everything he touches at the minute has gone in," Robinson said of Olusanya.

"He should have more to be honest with you. He's a handful and a completely different player than what he was (when he arrived).

"But credit to him. The staff have worked really, really hard on him hitting the target and his timing and his runs. We're starting to see the fruition of that. He's been a real talisman for us, he's been excellent. There's real competition for places in that area now."

We asked for your views on St Mirren's 2-1 win against Hearts.

Here's what some of you said:

Huey: Saints are slowly but surely improving after experiencing a dip due to our European exploits and a particularly tricky set of fixtures. Against Hearts we looked more like our old selves - I was impressed with the pace of Scott Tanser and the workrate of Killian Phillips, but Alex Gogic looks a yard off the pace and Kevin van Veen looks unfit.

Eddie: We started in a sloppy manner, giving the ball away far too easily. The sooner Greg Kiltie is back the better. I still think our midfield is too weak. However, once we settled down we worked ourselves into the game. Toyosi Olusanya is getting better every game from someone who most of us would have punted earlier, he is proving us all wrong. Onwards and hopefully upwards.

Alistair: We hosted another entertaining game and managed to hold on to a lead this time, every player in black and white played their part and to top it off Olusanya is heading for the Ballon D’Or.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Toyosi Olusanya says St Mirren are ready to kick on beating Hearts to record their first win since the Premiership opening day.

The Paisley side are now unbeaten in three and have moved up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership.

"Buzzing" striker Olusanya is leading the way with goals in each of his last three games, making it an impressive tally of six in 11 overall this season.

"The last three games I feel like we've had a lot of good patches in the game and we just were not quite been able to seal the deal," the forward said.

"But I feel like with this win we're sitting in the top six and can go again next weekend, and just keep going from there.

"It's important to enjoy the win but not be too high and when you lose not be too low, so we're just going to take it in our stride and keep going."

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• St Mirren are undefeated in their last three games in the Premiership, their last joint longest unbeaten streak was from 24 February 2024 to 2 March 2024.

• Hearts have lost their last five games in the Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 8 March 2023 to 15 April 2023.

• Toyosi Olusanya has scored in each of his last three games in the Premiership (3 goals), his longest scoring streak in the competition.

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson was pleased with his side's defensive display in their 2-1 win over Hearts.

Head coach Steven Naismith is sure he can arrest Hearts' alarming slump after an eighth successive loss away to St Mirren left the Edinburgh club at the foot of the Scottish Premiership.

Poor defending at set-pieces was the theme in Paisley. Both teams scored from their first corner kicks, with Gerald Taylor losing his bearings when trying to mark Richard Taylor and heading Mark O'Hara's delivery into his own net.

Hearts levelled soon after as Craig Halkett glanced home a flat cross from Blair Spittal.

The visitors were looking the more menacing side but more slack play at the back handed the initiative to St Mirren.

On 34 minutes, Killian Phillips nodded on a long free-kick and Toyosi Olusanya was quickest to the loose ball, lashing it high into the net.

Olusanya fired the wrong side of the post from close range early in the second half, Kevin van Veen whistled a couple of efforts wide, and Roland Idowu was denied by Craig Gordon as St Mirren registered their first Premiership victory since the opening weekend.

Hearts barely mustered a chance after the interval and remain rooted to the bottom of the table, without a win this season.

Have your say on St Mirren's performance here, external.

Colin Moffat
BBC Sport Scotland

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St Mirren fans may have been a bit nervous since they led 2-1 at the break in their last two matches only to draw them both.

However, there were no real moments of concern in the second half as the hosts effectively shut down their beleaguered opponents.

As Hearts committed more men forward to little effect, Stephen Robinson's side were switched on at the back and had license to roam but could not find a killer third goal.

St Mirren had been slow to start and struggled for fluency from open play before the interval but made their physicality pay against a side low on confidence.

Olusanya's sixth goal of the season was an emphatic strike and he leads the line with impressive energy to set the tone for a hard-grafting side.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I thought our defending and our shape without the ball was the best it's been.

"We looked like the St Mirren team of two years ago where we're very hard to break down. Set plays are vital in games now and we scored two, they scored one.

"We played well in patches, little doubts creep into your mind when you're not winning games but we've never faltered from that.

"If you're hard to break down, which I think we were today, you're going to score goals.

"We're three unbeaten now and that's a really good start to the season for us considering the run we've had and the teams we've played."

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Toyosi Olusanya has scored in his last three league outings and is on six for the season already. He used his strength to unsettle a brittle Hearts defence and lashed in his goal in fine style.

St Mirren: Balcombe, Rooney, Taylor, Gogic, Fraser, Brown, O'Hara, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, Olusanya, Mandron

Substitutes: Urminsky, Bwomono, Dunne, Tanser, Smyth, Idowu, Scott, Ayunga, Van Veen.

Hearts: Gordon, Taylor, Halkett, Kingsley, Penrice, Baningime, Boateng, Grant, Spittal, Shankland, Vargas.

Substitutes: Clark, Oyegoke, Devlin, Oda, Rowles, Forrest, Dhand, Boyce, Drammeh

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Charles Dunne is available after signing a short-term deal at St Mirren and Greg Kiltie has been back in training 10 days after recovering from an ankle problem.

Alex Iacovitti will be out until around Christmas with a tendon injury while Richard Taylor is struggling with a hernia problem which in time will probably require surgery. Conor McMenamin (knee) is making progress.

Hearts defender Frankie Kent is a doubt with an ankle problem, and Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring) is still out but Yutaro Oda, Liam Boyce and Barrie McKay are set to come back into contention.