The only way is up for Saints
MacKenzie’s determined side will do better
Gary MacKenzie has vowed to help St Mirren look up the table after being put through the ringer last season.
The experienced defender admits the battle against relegation was like something he had never faced before, despite having been in and around the game both north and south of the border for over a decade.
And with the new season just around the corner, MacKenzie admits that he retains a sense of pride about the side’s achievements last year, though he will do doing everything in his power to ensure that the club don’t find themselves in that predicament again.
MacKenzie said: “When you look back, there is a sense of satisfaction over what we did achieve and in proving people wrong in maintaining the club’s position in the league.
“Then again, it’s not a position that we wanted to be in, and I think that the performances in the last four months of the season show that with the team we’ve got, we shouldn’t be in that position this season.
“It was a test of character and you get those through your career when questions are asked of you, and that’s how you find out about yourself and who you really are.
“If you are always playing at the top of the league then it’s a different pressure. People aren’t going to lose their jobs if you don’t win the league or get promoted.
“On the flip side, there’s a lot on the line not only for yourself, but for people around the club.
“So, we had that test of character, and everyone knows that we came through that.
“And we came through it in a way that we played football in the right way.
“It wasn’t like we were winning ugly and scraping results. We played some really good football as well.”
The manner in which St Mirren avoided the drop last season has raised expectations for the side ahead of the league getting started at home to Falkirk on Saturday, August 5.
And MacKenzie maintains that the belief of last year remains in the current crop of Saints players.
He added: “It gives you belief, going into the next season and gives you the confidence to be able to say that you are looking to do something.
“Because you know that people around you stepped up to the plate last season as well.
“I’ve been about the clubs, and at Dundee we were pushing for promotion. It was the same at MK Dons where we made the play-offs and there’s pressure on you to get promoted, but it’s more for yourself.
“Last season was new for me, which was a test of my character, even after playing for 13 years.
“It tells you a lot about yourself as well as the other players you share a dressing room with.”