ST MIRREN V Hibernian GUTINSTINCT SAID GO WITH SAINTS SWAP SmallreadytomakebigimpactonloanfromSouthampton
Teenager Thierry Small listened to his gut when he decided to swap St Mary’s for St Mirren this week.
And the confident 18-year-old is hoping his loan spell in Paisley is much more satisfying than his previous stint away from Southampton at Port Vale.
Small failed to nail down a regular spot at the English League One side during his loan spell there in the first half of the current season.
So when manager Stephen Robinson told him he’d play a “key role” if he joined him at St Mirren, the youngster jumped at the chance to move to Scotland.
And after getting his first taste of Premiership action off the bench at Pittodrie, the talented prospect is hungry for more minutes as the former Everton youth aims to keep developing his all-round game in Paisley.
Small told Express Sport: “I heard St Mirren were interested and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go and establish myself as a player and develop.
“That’s the key part of it for me, developing and getting better each day. I’m working with two great gaffers and now it’s just important to get my head down and work hard.
“I didn’t play as much as I’d hoped at Port Vale, but that’s part of the game. It was a great learning experience for me and I took a lot of things on board from it when I was there.
“Now it’s all about building as a player. You have to go through tough patches to grow as a player. I took a lot from it.
“It was really a gut feeling coming here. Speaking to the manager I thought it would be a great place to develop.
“He said I could play a key role in games and that’s what I want to do.
“I had my first experience against Aberdeen the other night and it’s clearly a physical league.
That’s definitely where I can strive to improve here.”
Small’s arrival is particularly timely given Richard Tait’s groin injury setback, which looks set to keep the defender out for another long spell.
The teenager, who has represented England at under-18 level, is confident he can help his new Buddies stay in the top half of the table, adding: “All the boys have been great to me so far. I can’t speak highly of them enough.
“It’s been good and I feel welcome at St Mirren already.”
The Buddies have been hit by a serious injury blow after key striker Jonah Ayunga was ruled out for the rest of the season.
The St Mirren forward has enjoyed a brilliant debut season in the stripes, netting seven times including huge goals against Celtic and Rangers.
The 25-year-old, who joined the Saints in the summer after leaving Morecambe, hobbled off with a knee complaint during the Paisley club’s 1-0 win against Motherwell last week.
And while St Mirren were hoping for good news, scans this week revealed the extent of the injury with the striker suffering cruciate knee damage that requires surgery.
That will see him sidelined for at least six months, ruling him out of a return for the remainder of the current campaign.
Gutted Robinson said:
“Two days ago we got bad news on Jonah. He has done his cruciate ligament so he is going to be a minimum of six months.
“He will have the best care here with Gerry Docherty and the medical team. We are planning when he will have that surgery now and we will get him back fitter and stronger. It is a huge blow for us. He was a big part of what we’d done earlier in the season.
“He was excellent when he came on against Motherwell so it is a big blow for the boy himself.
“There was a lot of interest in him from down south as well but he is a strong boy, a strong character and he will come back stronger.
“He will spend a little bit of time with his family, we will start his rehab and, as I say, he will get the best rehab available with Gerry Docherty.”