A season like no other for the Saints
Despite the adversity of covid, the players surpassed expectations
With last season now consigned to the history books, we’ve decided to take an in-depth look at the year that was for St Mirren.
In terms of action on and off the pitch, you’ll struggle to find a more eventful and exciting campaign for the Buddies.
Despite struggling early on as coronavirus threatened to derail the season on several occasions, Jim Goodwin’s resilient side bounced back and went on to achieve their best topflight finish in more than 30 years.
The Saints also made it to the semifinals of both the League and Scottish Cups, and the Paisley Express’ sports reporter Ben Ramage has teamed up with regular paper contributor, and Saints fan Kyle Gunn, to discuss the memorable campaign.
The second half will be published in Monday’s Paisley Daily Express.
Were you happy with the recruitment the club pulled off in the summer?
Kyle Gunn (KG) - Undoubtedly. The signings of Jak Alnwick, Richard Tait and Marcus
Fraser have been outstanding pieces of business. Particularly goalkeeper Alnwick, to replace someone like Vaclav Hladky looked a tall order but I’d argue he’s an upgrade.
Ben Ramage (BR) - Defensively I think the club got it spot on. Jak Alnwick, Richard Tait, Marcus Fraser and Joe Shaughnessy were all experienced, solid additions and they were worth their weight in gold over the course of the season.
Offensively I feared the club were heading into the campaign a little light up front, lacking a regular goalscorer with the onus firmly on Jon Obika to hit the goal trail.
Were there any players released you would have kept? BR - This might be a controversial choice but I would have kept Tony Andreu at the club.
I know many Saints fans weren’t enamoured by his laidback demeanour on the pitch, but his creativity and occasional goal threat could have come in very handy over the course of a season that St Mirren once again struggled for goals in, especially off the bench.
KG - Maybe Danny Mullen. He was always a willing runner and could always chip in with the odd goal but was never a regular under
Goodwin.
Stephen McGinn looked like a miss early on, but then Jamie McGrath and Ethan Erhahon stepped up, with Jake DoyleHayes and Ryan Flynn to add to the mix.
How concerned were you when the first coronavirus false-positive scare hit St Mirren? Did you fear it was a sign of things to come?
KG - When you look at it, to have seven positive tests, was a scare. Particularly after how the previous season had just ended. For six of those to be false, was obviously good for those individuals’ health, but unfortunately for the club that was far from the end of their Covid-19 issues.
BR - You feared that coronavirus was going to play a big part in last season for every club, but for St Mirren to get hit with it so early was a big blow.
Thankfully several of the tests turned out to be false-positive, but it certainly made me feel on edge regarding the likelihood of further outbreaks in Paisley and at other clubs.
Two wins in the first three games, were you feeling positive at that stage?
BR - Absolutely. The opening day win over Livingston felt like a really strong start, with the new defensive unit looking really strong already.
A 3-0 loss at Ibrox was nothing to get too concerned about, and the following win over Accies in Hamilton also gave me hope as the Buddies were grinding out wins early in the season.
KG - Two victories from the first three games is encouraging, particularly when the odd one out in that sequence is against Rangers, the eventual unbeaten league champions.
But I’ve followed St Mirren for too long to excited at the start of a season, Alan Stubbs won his first game after all! Although this season ended in a positive manner, too.
With coronavirus decimating the squad on several occasions, the Buddies endured a difficult losing streak culminating in a lastminute loss to Aberdeen.
Did you fear for Goodwin’s job at that point?
BR - Despite the Covid-19 issues that were clearly hampering the Buddies, no manager is ever bulletproof and the losing run did put pressure on Goodwin.
The loss at Aberdeen was one of the club’s best performances of the season up to that point though, and I think it showed the board that the Saints boss hadn’t lost the dressing room at that point.
They were absolutely right to stick by him, as was proved in the latter stages of the season.
KG - Losing streaks are easy to get into but very hard to get out of. A quote from my favourite sitcom, Only Fools and Horses but it wasn’t a laughing matter for Jim Goodwin.
Six straight defeats, circumstances or not would have been enough for many boards to pull the trigger but Gordon Scott and co were vindicated not to.
Did the League Cup group stage give the players some much needed respite from league duty?
KG - Absolutely it did. That run between October and November allowed Jim
Goodwin to see some green Ws on the fixture chart on his office wall and allowed the players to gain some much-needed confidence, setting them up for the rest of the season.
BR - 100 per cent. Facing Partick Thistle, who were nowhere near fit, was a huge chance for the club to finally get back to winning ways.
While they could only manage penalty shootout wins over Queen of the South and fierce rivals Greenock Morton, which could well have gone either way in normal time, let alone from the spot, the games did give the Paisley club a much-needed confidence boost ahead of their return to domestic action.
The club’s Premiership clash with Motherwell in October was postponed after more positive tests. Did it seem at the time like the club couldn’t shake the virus off?
KG - The Motherwell game was postponed and the game against Hamilton the week later. It was a concern, with only eight outfield players available, and all three goalkeepers all self isolating.
You wondered at that point, when the luck would turn for the Buddies or indeed if it ever would.
BR - The Motherwell postponement felt like a hugely significant moment in the season.
Having already faced Hibs and Celtic with an emergency loanee between the sticks, and with the cases continuing to crop up regularly, it did seem like St Mirren’s season was going to be defined by the virus.
Thankfully the shutdown the club enforced had the desired effect, ridding the playing and coaching staff of the virus and allowing them to get back to matters on the pitch.
St Mirren enjoyed a much better run of form leading up to their memorable quarter final League Cup win over Rangers. Was that one of St Mirren’s best wins over the last few decades?
KG - 27 games. That’s how many Rangers had went unbeaten before St Mirren’s League Cup quarter final victory over the Ibrox champions and when you consider Connor Goldson scored early it’s even better.
Only double winners St Johnstone also beat them domestically in the other quarter-final and they got 102 points in the league.
It’s easily Saints’ achievement of the season and of the last few years.
BR - With the virus finally under control, the Buddies went on a much better run with morale-boosting wins picked up over Livingston, Motherwell and Aberdeen.
The win over Rangers was quite simply incredible. To have played so well against a team that was unbeaten up to that point, suffered a late equaliser and then still recovered and gone and grabbed an injurytime winner was the stuff of dreams.
It’s just such a shame the supporters weren’t in the stadium, because I think the roof would have come off every stand.