St Mirren

Did you take in St Mirren's top-six clinching win against Ross County or were you following from home?

Have your say on the match

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It's an incredible achievement. To achieve this level of consistency with the resources we have, it's an outstanding achievement from everybody at the football club.

"I'm delighted, I'm delighted with the group of players, I'm delighted that they've achieved this. Ultimately, over the course of the season you get what you deserve and we've deserved to be a top-six side."

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Andy Campbell
BBC Scotland

Manager Stephen Robinson was adamant pre-match that just breaching 40 points for a third season running would be a remarkable achievement regardless of which half of the table St Mirren finished in. But being among the league's elite again will be very satisfying for the Paisley faithful.

Had Hearts held on to sixth place, the Scottish Premiership's six wealthiest clubs would have finished the season playing each other but St Mirren and Robinson have upset the apple cart and will now have a say in the race for Europe.

The Buddies qualified for Europe last term by finishing fifth and repeating that feat may be a tall order with an eight-point gap to Aberdeen, who play their game in hand against Rangers on Sunday.

But St Mirren are definitely where they want to be.

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Caolan Boyd-Munce scored an excellent goal and set up St Mirren's second in their vital win over Ross County, which sealed a Scottish Premiership top-six place.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS

St Mirren have Conor McMenamin, Alex Iacovitti and Elvis Bwomono fighting their way back to fitness, while Evan Mooney (ankle) is out for the season.

Ross County lost Noah Chilvers to cruciate ligament damage ahead of last weekend's defeat by Aberdeen and continue to be without Michee Efete (knee) and Ryan Leak (Achilles).

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson says victory over Ross County on Saturday would mark a "huge achievement" even if they miss out on a top-six place.

Saints are looking for a hat-trick of top-half finishes in the Premiership but only if they win on Saturday and Motherwell take something off Hearts at Fir Park.

"The biggest thing I've said to the players is, this would be the third year you've broken 40 points [before the split]," Robinson said.

"If we can win on Saturday and don't meet the top six, it's still a massive improvement on where this football club was.

"To do it three years in a row and hit 40 points before the split is probably the first time it's been done. So, whether it's good enough to make the top six, what we have to remember is to break 40 points before the split is a huge, huge achievement for this football club."

Robinson has had to deal with losing three players from his squad this season following court appearances but has brushed off the disruption.

"We have to embrace it," he added.

"We're not the ones under pressure. Ourselves and Motherwell, it's a huge bonus to be in the top six. But it's other teams that are under pressure, not us.

"Considering everything that's happened at the club and all the problems we've had off the field, to still be in this position is fantastic."

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media ahead of his side's game with Ross County this weekend.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• Robinson says even if the side don't finish in the top six, "it's still a massive improvement on where this football club was. To do it three years in a row and hit 40 points before the split is probably the first time it's been done."

• He adds that should they win at the weekend and hit the 40-point mark, it would be a "huge, huge achievement for this football club".

• Robinson "doesn't feel there's a whole need to change a lot of things" on the park, adding that he's been happy with recent performances and the players he has available.

• St Mirren have to "embrace" the challenge of vying for a top-six spot, says Robinson, but he remains calm as "other teams are under pressure, not us".

• With off-the-park troubles plaguing them throughout the season, the manager adds: "Considering everything that's happened at the club and all the problems we've had off the field, to still be in this position is fantastic".

• The 50-year-old emphasises that at the start of the season the club's main target was staying in the top flight, and a top-six berth is their "maximum target," adding that he feels the current compostion of the table's top half is probably "the way it should be in terms of resources."

• A win on Saturday would be a huge result for the club, even if it doesn't secure that final spot in the top half of the division, as "it will certainly help ease our fears of being caught up in a relegation battle."

• He reckons his side's performance against Dundee was better than when they hammered Kilmarnock, but the result doesn't reflect that as they weren't "clinical and ruthless enough".

• He adds that "the fans have played a huge part" in recent success and praises them for their continued support both home and away.

• He adds that this weekend's opponents, Ross County, "have a lot of really good players," and they will take nothing for granted against a good side with a "very good manager who has bright ideas".

• It's a "bit too early" for Evan Mooney this weekend, but there are no other injuries, with a fully-fit squad other than that giving him "hard decisions for the bench, never mind the starting XI".

Celtic could still win a 13th Scottish top-flight title in 14 seasons this weekend, despite their shock defeat away to St Johnstone last Sunday.

Victory at home against Kilmarnock on Saturday would be sufficient to confirm the arithmetic should Rangers lose at Aberdeen the following day.

The Ibrox side are almost certain to clinch the second Champions League place, but four points from their final six matches would confirm it.

Whoever finishes third and fourth will also be in Europe, as will the division's fifth-placed side should the Scottish Cup winners be one of the Premiership's top four.

The fight for the final top-six place will go to the final game before the split, with one of Hearts, Motherwell or St Mirren claiming it.

Hearts visit Fir Park one point in front of their hosts and the Paisley side, who take on Ross County.

The two teams missing out could yet be sucked into a relegation battle.

Bottom side St Johnstone are now five adrift of Dundee and six behind Kilmarnock and Ross County. Motherwell and St Mirren are a further three points ahead.

With the teams all playing each other again post-split, there is still plenty scope for movement between now and 18 May.

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• St Mirren are unbeaten in their past four league meetings with Ross County (W2 D2), and are looking to win back-to-back league matches against the Staggies for the first time since October 2021 (run of four).

• Ross County have failed to win any of their past eight away games at St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership (D3 L5) since a 3-0 victory in April 2015. The Staggies have failed to score at all in each of their past six league trips to face the Buddies.

• After their 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, St Mirren are looking to pick up back-to-back home league wins for the first time this season; they are one of only two clubs yet to win successive Scottish Premiership home matches this season, along with bottom side St Johnstone.

• Ross County have lost each of their past three league games without scoring; only once before have they had a longer run of defeats without reply in the top flight, going five in a row in December 2020, which included a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren.

• A St Mirren win over Ross County, along with Hearts failing to beat Motherwell, would see St Mirren finish in the top six in each of the last three Scottish Premiership seasons (Hearts will also achieve this if they beat Motherwell). The only other two clubs to finish sixth and above when the league splits in every season since 2022-23 are Celtic and Rangers.

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

What's that, you've got your hopes up after smashing five past Derek McInnes? Well, here's a 90-minute gut punch at the hands of his former assistant.

Against Kilmarnock in Paisley, all seemed to come off in a manner not seen since Ron Weasley thought he'd gubbed an entire vial of liquid luck before his Gryffindor quidditch trial. Killie had a bit more of the ball, St Mirren put away all of their chances. Ruthless Saints at their most effective.

Saturday's trip to Dundee offered the counterweight to such joy, ensuring that the scales of football optimism returned to their normal balanced state. All the hallmarks of a decent and dominant performance, but nothing to show for it.

The Buddies rained shots on Trevor Carson's goal. If you'll permit me to slide on my fitba-nerd specs and open up my stats-box, and I hate myself for doing so, the data paints a fairly stark picture.

Last week, the five-goal Buddies vastly outperformed their xG (expected goals) tally of 1.55 while Killie's single goal was near-enough par. Saturday's printout shows a far more brutal picture.

Dundee's two goals, handed on a plate, can be considered as double the reward for their 1.1 xG. Meanwhile, Stephen Robinson's side had two-thirds of the possession and racked up nearly 2.6 xG for the day - almost double their season average. All that opportunity created, but a literal bagel/donut/cheerio to show for it.

This disparity creates something of a dilemma for Saints when Ross County visit Paisley to close out the pre-split stage of the season.

The task at hand is clear, regardless of whether Hearts leave the possibility of sneaking top-six status open, only three points will do.

On a perfect day, that three points ends any residual jeopardy for another dramatic campaign and punches a top-half ticket. Should Hearts see off Motherwell and suit their own ambitions, the lower table is simply too tight to hand any home points to a rival.

Heading into week 33 of the season, four points currently separate mid-table comfort from an agonising play-off.

Herein lies the dilemma. Do you trust in the numbers and go for the same again, with the belief that there will be no defensive charity handed out to a gleeful Simon Murray equivalent?

Or, do you revert to something more physical and seek to grind the points in more of a battle?

See you on the other side.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Watch Sportscene analysis of Zach Hemming's goalkeeping mistake in St Mirren's defeat to Dundee.

Watch highlights as Dundee win 2-0 against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

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We asked for your views on St Mirren's 2-0 defeat against Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

Derek: Unfortunately our inconsistency will likely cost us dearly. The team can play absolutely superbly one week then get beaten, no matter how well we play the next. Our consistency needs to improve.

Douglas: This result probably relegates us to the bottom six, not that the possession or the quality of outfield play deserves that prediction, but we now really depend on others helping us get there. The manager is spot on, you can't doubt the effort or at times the skill, but if you don't take your chances then you deserve to lose.

John: We played well, but our goalkeeper's mistake for their second goal gave us a mountain to climb. Top six is probably gone now, but even so we've done okay considering the multiple setbacks this season.

Huey: I've followed Saints through good times and not so good times since 1977, but I can't remember such an inconsistent season. We undoubtedly have the squad to be a top-six team but there's no way of predicting what version of St Mirren is going to turn up from week to week. We win against the odds, lose games we should win, draw/lose games we've been ahead in and ship goals after 80 minutes. I believe in Stephen Robinson but this has been a frustrating season - we create lots of chances but miss far too many of them, and our game management is shocking. Onwards, regardless.

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• Dundee have scored in their last seven games in the Premiership, their longest scoring streak this season.

• St Mirren have failed to score in 12 of their 32 games, only Ross County (14) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Simon Murray scored after just one minute and 27 seconds, the fastest goal for Dundee in the Premiership this season.

• St Mirren attempted 20 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

Did you take in St Mirren's 2-0 defeat by Dundee or were you following from home?

Have your say on the match

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "We controlled the game but our quality was poor. We have three or four really good gilt-edged chances that we miss.

"There's a lot of good in it but the end product was poor all over the pitch. If your end product's poor and you make individual errors, which we did, we get punished for, then you lose football matches.

"The disappointment is the consistency, we haven't followed a great result up anytime this season. I can't ever fault the effort, I can't ever fault the desire of the players, we just lacked quality in that final third."

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Brian McLauchlin
BBC Scotland at Dens Park

They may have lost the game but there was little to be critical about St Mirren's overall performance.

They created numerous chances but were up against a Dundee defence out to prove their critics wrong.

With Ross County at home in their final game before the split, they will fancy themselves to get all three points next time out.

However, they are now reliant on Hearts falling short this weekend and next in order to make the top six.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS

Dundee are still without Lyall Cameron and Scott Fraser (groin) but Antonio Portales, Seb Palmer-Houlden and Clark Robertson are all back in contention after injury.

St Mirren's Toyosi Olusanya returns from suspension. Conor McMenamin has started training again after a long-term calf complaint but the game comes too soon.

Alex Iacovitti had an epidural as he looks to recover from a back problem while Elvis Bwomono (calf) and Evan Mooney (ankle) are still out.

Lewis Irons
BBC Scotland

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson says his players "haven't had enough credit" as they target a top-six finish for the third season in a row.

Saints are aiming for their first win against Dundee this season in their penultimate match before the split, and Robinson believes his players have the mentality required to finish in the top half yet again.

The Paisley men are currently seventh, a point behind Hearts.

"Personally, I don't think the players have had enough credit for it," the Northern Irishman said.

"It's now expected that St Mirren should be in the running for a top-six place and I read articles saying we should be in there. I don't know what that's based on, bar the quality of the players and the quality of the recruitment. It's all credit to them.

"I've said it all along but I think with about eight games to go we were in the running, now to be a point off the top six and to have a real chance again for three years in a row is a real achievement, no matter what happens in the end.

"It's been a trying season but it just shows the character of these players that they're still in this position."

Robinson says his players believe they belong in the top six.

"I believe they do. Within our dressing room we believe that we're a very good side," he added.

"Sometimes things go for you, sometimes things are out of your control which a lot of it has been this season.

"The resilience they've shown, the quality they've shown, is testament to the group."

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Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media before St Mirren's trip to Dundee on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• After the 5-1 trouncing of Kilmarnock last week, the squad is in a good place and the "icing on the cake is getting the emphatic results".

• Robinson and his staff try to relieve pressure on the players by "making it a little bit more light-hearted around the training ground".

• On potentially getting a top-six spot for the third consecutive season, Robinson says: "I personally don't think the players have had enough credit for it."

• With Premiership reconstruction back on the agenda, the Buddies boss says the Premiership "needs to be bigger to allow development".

• He adds: "I'm not Scottish but developing young Scottish players is at the forefront of a lot of people's minds. That's easier to do when you're not looking over your shoulder every game thinking you could get relegated, which is a catastrophe for the football club."

• Reflected on hitting milestones, with beating Rangers twice and getting a European place, he says "we're still aiming to grow the football club from the foundations up".

• Robinson is glad to have Toyosi Olusanya back from suspension as he provides a "real option" up front. This weekend is too soon for Mikael Mandron, Conor McMenamin, Evan Mooney and Alex Gogic, but they will provide a "big boost" in the coming weeks.

• Robinson compliments his chief scout Martin Foyle: "He produces miracles every year. The vast majority, we've got a lot of it right and a lot of it's down to him."

• He praised Mooney's work ethic and says the 17-year-old is "making great progress and he's a real example" to the club's other young players.

• Robinson insists Dundee are a "big, big threat" despite having the leakiest defence in the Premiership and sitting second bottom.