NOTHING’S GONNA TOP US NOW
Buddies will lead all season, says Adam
ADAM Eckersley has boldly claimed that having returned to the summit of the Championship, St Mirren will remain there for the rest of the season.
The former Hearts full-back asserts that no other team in the division can cope with the pace and power of the Paisley side when they are in full flow.
This was evident in Tuesday’s 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Livingston that has taken the Buddies back to the top, two points clear of Dundee United.
They came from a goal down to sweep aside Livi in a dominant second half and now they are setting their sights on Dumbarton on Saturday.
The situation is night and day in comparison to this time last season when Saints were still searching for their first league win of the season.
Eckersley said: “There were a few weeks there where we dropped a few places, but we are back where I feel we belong.
“I think we are a good team and I think we should be in this position.
“If we continue to play the way we did on Tuesday, I think we will have a real good chance of beating the majority of teams in this league.
“I think when we pass and move, I don’t think any team can live with us.
“A little bit of momentum goes a long way. We just need to keep doing what we are good at and that’s what we did on Tuesday.”
Eckersley, whose shot was deflected in for Saints’ second goal on Tuesday, reckons last Saturday’s win at Inverness has been the catalyst for their return to form and they are peaking at the right moment.
THE defender, who won promotion with the Jambos under Robbie Neilson in 2015, said: “It seemed to spark a togetherness and a will to never back down.
“It just seemed to come together and gelled and we have just carried on from there.
“I said to the gaffer that it felt like no one was going to back out of a 50/50 and that’s what we needed on Tuesday.
“It was the same again because we were battling, fighting, scrapping for second balls and playing some nice football on top of that too.
“It’s getting to that time of the season where you need to be picking up points where the pitches are getting bad and it is getting cold.
“You need to dig deep and find something and that’s what we seem to be doing right now.
“But it helps when you are playing in front of the Paisley crowd. They boost us.
“The amount we took to Inverness was ridiculous in that weather and I even sent a Tweet out on social media to thank them. I think that’s decent for them to go so far.”
Tuesday’s victory was also memorable for a return to form – and goal-scoring – by Lewis Morgan, the main creative force in Jack Ross’s side who, once again, was the subject of scrutiny from a host of interested clubs.
It’s a certainty he will move to a higher level at the end of the season when his contract runs out, but there is a school of thought that he may be sold in January on the proviso that he is loaned back to Saints to complete the promotion mission.
Morgan, who opened the scoring on Tuesday, said: “It was good to get back among the goals again because I hadn’t scored for a while in the league.
“It was a massive win for us. It was a dominant performance from start to finish.”