Gaffer looks forward to cup clash
Tonight’s the night we’re back in action.
A Friday night trip to play in front of the BT Sport cameras in Kilmarnock will shed some light on just exactly how St Mirren are shaping up under new boss Alan Stubbs.
It’s a work in progress for Stubbs, that much he admitted ahead of tonight’s Betfred Cup opener, but that doesn’t mean he has tempered his expectations.
Last year’s Championship title means St Mirren have earned their step up – now he wants them to prove why they are there.
Tonight’s acid test at Rugby Park isn’t the be all and end all but the manager insists he expects a performance from his new look St Mirren side which has endured a summer of transition both on and off the park.
Any promotion brings the potential for change. And St Mirren’s has been extreme.
A new manager, a new coaching staff, 15 players out and so far seven players in with scope for much more.
Stubbs knows it won’t be easy but he has refused to take the easy route out, instead eyeing up progression in the Betfred Cup instead of already writing it off as a pre-season exercise as some might have.
He said: “I think a lot of the Premiership teams use these Betfred games as pre- season games, while obviously having the mindset to get through the group.
“If we can do that we’ll see what that brings. I’m not in the mindset that these are purely just fitness games.
“We are in there to be competitive and win games. We won’t be just using them as preseason games.
“I think it is difficult to say that we are using them as pre-season games because it can give the players an excuse to not be right on it.
“It’s a great game to get started with. On paper it looks like our toughest fixture and the fact that it’s the first televised games tells you it’s one of the picks of the group games.
“The team that is put out is a team that we think is going to be very competitive.
“But it gives us a chance to see what we’ve got in the squad.”
Standing in St Mirren’s way this evening are a Kilmarnock side that have enjoyed a much-heralded rejuvenation under former Buddie, Steve Clarke.
Clarke has transformed Kilmarnock from perennial relegation fodder to a side that took points off of either side of the Old Firm last season.
It would be easy to see them as an inspiration. The work that Clarke has done has been remarkable, admits Stubbs.
But the St Mirren manager has his own ideas and very much for his own club.
Stubbs said: “They’ve done well but we don’t want to be trying to emulate. We want to create our own identity and play in our way.
“But in terms of where they’ve been and what they’ve done it would be great if we could do something like that.
“We are the new boys in the league. We want to be competitive and make sure we’re not looking over our shoulder.
“Steve Clarke has done a brilliant job there. When I was working for TV last season we were always eulogising about the job he has done.
“From where they were when he came to where they finished was a brilliant turnaround.
“Knowing Steve – as I do a little bit - it didn’t surprise me.
“But obviously expectations have risen now and they will be expecting to do something similar this season.”
As the teams emerge from the tight Rugby Park tunnel this evening, it will bring an end to what has, at times, felt like an endless summer for Saints fans. Memories of the title celebrations feel distant.
The lack of even a friendly has meant no one knows too much about this St Mirren side.
Stubbs concedes that the squad is still a work in progress as he looks to put his own stamp on his Paisley outfit, with the