YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
McGinn says Barnsley link had zero to do with loss
SAINTS captain Stephen McGinn insists a shock slump at the Tony Macaroni Arena was nothing to do with Barnsley’s interest i n manager Jack Ross.
And he maintains that the surprising heavy defeat to Livingston is merely a bump in the road from which they will recover immediately.
Ross distanced himself from the job at Oakwell last Thursday having spoken to the Championship side the day before.
However, How McGinn (left inset) fe feels potential upheaval at a crucial cruc time of the season had no bearing bea on the team’s poor performance. perfor
He said: “There have been rumours rumou about Jack three different feren times – but we take a bit of pride pr in that because of the job he has done.
“I “don’t think the fact he talked ta with Barnsley last week w is an excuse.
“You could have understood st it if he had gone but I love the fact that that he has chosen to stay with us in the same way Derek McInnes chose to stay with w Aberdeen.
“I think it’s really good for our game that two managers age like them want to stay.
“You “always hear about the holy h grail of England but we have ha good leagues here.
“We’ve “We had a few sore ones this season se because the way we play we w can sometimes leave ourselves ourse exposed but we haven’t haven lost too many and we have always a responded well.
“We will stay positive. We will take ta our medicine and we will go again.”
While Saints were left licking their wounds, the remarkable story of Livingston continues to get better
Striker Lee Miller reckons there is something special happening under boss David Hopkin.
And after thumping league leaders Saints with some ease he feels Livi could get back to the top flight through the playoffs after a 12-year absence.
The former Aberdeen and Dundee United star said: “You heard the fans at the end singing ‘We are staying up’ which was in good jest.
“But we have a belief, we have a good changing room and you never know.
“We’ll keep trying to grind out the results and we will see where it takes us.
“We’re thrilled with the result and hopefully it kicks us on again.”
Miller, who was dumped by Paul Hartley at Falkirk, seems to have a new lease playing beside Rangers loanee Ryan Hardie.
And that was typified by a sensational overhead kick for Livi’s third goal after a Hardie double – even if the club announcer credited the goal to Nicky Cadden!
Hardie capitalised on a blunder between Craig Samson and Jack Baird and also netted with a volley after Ryan Flynn had given Saints the lead while Scott Robinson netted Livi’s fourth at the death.
MILLER said: “I was telling the boys that I had scored a few of them in my day. I heard I didn’t even get credited with it – he probably thought I couldn’t get my leg up that high!
“Sometimes it happens that you can strike up a good relationship with your strike partner early and Ryan and I seem to have done that.
“I don’t see why he can’t make it at Rangers if he keeps his head down and keeps plugging away.
“I never did anything wrong at Falkirk, but it was just one of those things,
“I have been in football long enough to know when I’m not wanted about the place.
“That’s football. You get on with it, you pick yourself up and David Hopkin has showed a lot of faith in me.”