Kearney needs magic wand to rescue season
St Mirren boss Oran Kearney caused quite a stir in his first game in charge when he brought in a magician to provide pre-match entertainment for his players before they held champions Celtic to a goalless draw in Paisley last month.
That must now seem a lifetime ago as the likeable Irishman has followed that promising debut with a miserable run of five straight defeats, the latest an abject one at McDiarmid Park yesterday.
Deservedly beaten 2-0, only a series of wonder saves from Craig Samson and two penalty misses from the home side kept the final score respectable.
Kearney candidly admitted last night that the January transfer window cannot come soon enough for the bedraggled Buddies.
Kearney said: “I can’t argue with how hard the players work and how much effort they give me, but January gives me the first opportunity for some surgery and the chance to bring in some new players that can make a difference.
“Having said that, there’s a huge amount of football to be played between now and January.”
While St Johnstone were given two spot-kicks by referee Andrew Dallas, Kearney felt Danny Mullen was unlucky not to be awarded a St Mirren penalty in the first half.
Kearney said: “Our players felt it was a stonewall penalty.
“The way things are going for us, these are vital moments for us and we’ve had a few of those recently.
“Obviously we were still in the game at 0-0, but when St Johnstone missed two penalties, I began to get a bit excited.
“I started to feel that maybe it was going to be our day, but the game just petered out in a way we didn’t want.
“We had a few shots blocked, but we were very disappointing in an attacking sense.
“Craig Samson pulled off one particular save in the first half and he’s very good at penalties.
The St Mirren boss concluded: “I had a good feeling about it and I just fancied him to save them.”