Robinson makes his mark as eight depart
ALAN POWER
(40 appearances, no goals)
The battling midfielder was brought to the club by Jim Goodwin last summer to add some steel to the Buddies’ midfield.
The former Kilmarnock man arrived with a reputation for hard-hitting, often rash, tackles and unfortunately he lived up to that when he picked up a reckless red card against Celtic in just his sixth appearance for the club.
That moment appeared to be a significant one, as he returned determined not to repeat those mistakes.
The 34-year-old slowly but surely won the fans back with some dominant performances in the middle of the park.
He still featured regularly under Stephen Robinson towards the back end of the season, but it appears his age has perhaps worked against him as he’s been allowed to leave the club with the new boss determined to bring through more of the club’s academy stars.
CONOR MCCARTHY (25 appearances, 2 goals)
The Irish centre back leaves Paisley after joining back in January 2020 at the same time as Jamie McGrath.
The 24-year-old endured a frustrating season in the stripes, having almost moved away last summer after interest from England.
He scored a crucial late leveller against Livingston in the League Cup, before the
Buddies eventually exited the competition on penalties, while also notching against Motherwell in April.
The defender suffered an injury which kept him out of action between the end of November and the middle of February, which appeared to knock his consistency.
While clearly a talented player, his form wasn’t the most reliable in recent and the Saints should be able to live without him.
A move to the lower leagues in England looks to be on the cards.
KYLE MCALLISTER (14 appearances, 1 goal)
Playmaker and academy graduate McAllister always seemed to be on the fringes of the St Mirren squad, especially under Jim Goodwin.
Former Saints boss Goodwin always talked up McAllister’s ability to spark attacks and open up defences, often looking to the 23-year-old off the bench late in games.
The former Derby County winger could never nail down a spot in the team, finding himself farmed out on loan to Partick Thistle for the second half of this season.
The winger will have plenty of suitors, with his passing, dribbling and shooting ability still very much appealing if he could produce the goods on a more consistent basis.
Given his age, the fact he came through the club’s academy and his creative ability, it’s surprising that Stephen Robinson hasn’t given him the chance to impress back in Paisley.
MATT MILLAR
(12 appearances, no goals)
This one is definitely filed in the‘no surprise there’category.
The strong Australian was brought to the club by Jim Goodwin last summer to challenge Richard Tait and Marcus Fraser for the right wing back berth.
He wasn’t 100 per cent fit when he arrived but showed signs he could be a shrewd signing, with his powerful running causing defences problems early on.
After making four appearances in December, he made just two in the second half of the season after falling way down the pecking order of both Goodwin and Stephen Robinson.
Overall an underwhelming signing that shouldn’t prove much of a miss next season.
JAK ALNWICK (39 appearances)
The impressive Buddies keeper will leave huge gloves to fill after his move to Cardiff City was confirmed this week.
The former Newcastle and Rangers stopper produced his second incredible campaign for the club, pulling off impressive saves on a weekly basis.
His distrubution and communication also helped the Saints breed confidence from the back, and it’s no surprise he had plenty of suitors this summer.
Former boss Jim Goodwin was keen to take him to Pittodrie, but Alnwick has decided his future lies in the English Championship.
At just 28, he has certainly given himself a great chance at becoming a number one at that level and potentially even higher.
No Buddie can hold that against him after he gave everything for the club during his two-year stint in Paisley.
CONNOR RONAN (30 appearances, 8 goals)
Another player who will be very, very difficult to replace.
With St Mirren’s strikers again struggling to regularly find the net, Wolves loanee Ronan helped plug the goalscoring gap left by Jamie McGrath as he racked up an impressive eight goals from midfield.
Of course, none of them were tap-ins. He produced at least two goal of the season contenders, with his long range strikes against Rangers and Hearts worthy of winning any game.
Unfortunately they didn’t on both occasions, but nevertheless Ronan quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his passing, vision and his lethal strikes from outside the box.
It will be very interesting to see where he ends up next, with his burgeoning list of potential options unfortunately ruling out a return to the SMISA Stadium.
JORDAN JONES (13 appearances, 1 goal)
The former Rangers winger joined on loan from Wigan Athletic in January and made a quick impression the Saints fans.
As well as his wonderful strike against Kelty Hearts in the Scottish Cup, the rapid 27-year-old always looked a threat with his driving runs cutting in from the flanks.
Unfortunately his end product wasn’t always as good as he or the Buddies would have liked, with his crosses often not finding their target in the box.
Stephen Robinson would still have likely wanted to hold on to the Northern Ireland international, but his wages would likely have been too high for the Paisley club to realistically look to hold on to him.
Like Ronan, it will be interesting to see where he’s plying his trade next year with Jim Goodwin’s Aberdeen
rumoured to be interested.
JOSH JACK (No appearances)
Academy kid Josh Jack only featured for St Mirren’s Under-20’s team in the Challenge Cup this season, scoring against Kelty Hearts in a 1-1 draw.
He went on to join Albion Rovers on loan, with the forward making 16 appearances but failing to finding the net for the League Two side.
With other talented young forwards coming through the ranks, the 21-yearold’s spell with the Saints has unfortunately come to an end.
Hopefully he will find a new club very soon with his journey in the game still at a very early stage.