This season from hell has turned my Buddies into men
ST MIRREN are one step away from completing an act of escapology of which Harry Houdini would surely have approved.
A point or better at Easter Road today will see them finish above Raith Rovers and Ayr United at the foot of the Championship — a scenario that was the stuff of fantasy after recording just two wins in the first 20 league games.
If they survive, the temptation for their fans — after deeply exhaling — may be to lie in a dark room and attempt to flush the most trying campaign imaginable from the memory bank.
For Stephen McGinn, though, the stress of having a relentless run of must-win fixtures since the turn of the year has been a test that even seven years in English football couldn’t prepare him for.
And, if indeed, calm seas do not make good sailors, the 28-year-old feels the experience of living with such vice-like pressure each week may prove to be the making of many within Jack Ross’ squad.
‘Whatever they do in their careers, and some may go to England and play in bigger stadiums, they’ll not play in any higher pressure games than they have this season,’ said McGinn.
‘I have played in England and it was nothing like going to Ayr at Somerset in February eight points behind and needing to win.
‘You are feeling the pressure of a club that has never been in Scottish football’s third tier.
‘You are sensing the desperation of the fans for it not to happen.
‘For those young players going on in their careers, dealing and handling that type of situation will stand them in good stead.
‘St Mirren have been playing must-win games for the last ten to 15 matches. It has almost become so natural that you actually embrace the pressure.’
Since Ross hit the gamble button in January by drafting in 11 new players, their efforts have been beyond reproach.
Just two defeats since then, a scenario that’s given rise to the paradox of the form team in the division fighting for its life. As dramatic as the turnaround has been, no one has to remind Ross’ charges the job isn’t yet done.
Hibs will receive the Championship trophy today and won’t take kindly to anyone popping the party balloons.
But having put five past Rovers last Saturday, Saints travel east without a hint of trepidation.
‘It is unusual in terms of how much we want to get a point in order to guarantee we don’t play any more games,’ added McGinn.
‘Yet at the same time we are enjoying our football.
‘Like last week, Saturday can’t come quick enough. That was such a pressure game but we were desperate for it to come along. We are desperate for Hibs to be our last game but we wish there was more of the campaign to go.’ Having waited all his life for the opportunity, today gives McGinn the second chance in three months to pit his wits against brother John in a competitive game.
The first of those occasions, a 2-0 win for the Buddies in March, had so much riding on it that sibling rivalries were very much an afterthought.
‘You are almost a man possessed and you forget your wee brother is playing,’ he explained.
‘It was late on and I heard the opposition boss (Neil Lennon) shouting at my wee brother and that was the only time it got uncomfortable. I could hear John responding to an Irish accent!
‘I think John is Hibs’ best player. Playing directly against him I realise I’m going to have to stop him having an influence. I won’t be offering any sort of advice.’
As influential as Hibs’ McGinn can be, St Mirren are scarcely short of weaponry of their own.
Stevie Mallan’s hat-trick last week, which contained a belated goal of the season contender, underscored his credentials as a player of real promise.
Which makes the broken figure McGinn first encountered after signing from Wycombe in January all the more perplexing.
‘When I first came in Stevie Mallan looked like a player who had the weight of the world on his shoulders and was carrying the expectations of the supporters and he was playing under a lot of pressure,’ he reflected.
‘Then you see him banging in a hat-trick and what he has done over the past three months and you think: “How can this guy have been playing for a team that was bottom of the league?”.
‘He has been that good. The answer lies in confidence and winning games. There is a host of things that have contributed to the change in fortunes since January and we now look like a team that shouldn’t have been bottom of the league.’
Were they to get to the safe harbour, the season will enter folklore. Survival in the second tier of the Scottish game will never knock the cup-winning years off their perches down Paisley way, but its significance could never be underplayed.
‘This would probably be the best achievement in my career,’ stated McGinn. ‘At certain times we were rooted to the bottom.
‘There are times when we’ve felt we are running into a brick wall and other occasions when we are too good to go down as we were playing a lot of good football.
‘The manager always remained positive throughout and the players have fed off that.’