McGinn knows there’s no easy tonic for Saints
Returning midfielder insists no quick fix for struggling Paisley side
STEPHEN McGinn admits that St Mirren are running out of time in their battle to avoid the drop into League One after another defeat on Saturday at home to Falkirk.
A double from John Baird sealed the points for the visitors, and despite a late rally and a Rory Loy goal, the Saints couldn’t find an equaliser.
That leaves the Buddies seven points adrift of Ayr United at the bottom of the Championship table, with McGinn, who rejoined the club this month after leaving Wycombe Wanderers, stressing they are all too aware about the seriousness of their predicament.
“I knew coming here that we had 14 cup finals left and we’ve lost the first one,” McGinn said.
“I knew it was going to be tough coming in, but Falkirk are a good side and they are up the top end of the league for a reason.
“I didn’t think there was much in the game, they were probably just a bit more clinical and streetwise than we were.
“You wouldn’t say looking at the game today that there was 20 points between the teams.
“The team is bottom for a reason, I knew I wasn’t going to be coming in here and winning every game. I knew it was going to be a fight and a struggle. We haven’t got long and we’re rooted to the bottom. We need to start winning – next week is massive.”
INDEED it is. Jack Ross takes his side to third-bottom Dumbarton on Saturday, with the Sons opening up an 11-point gap on the Saints with a crucial victory at the weekend.
“They’ve had a huge win up at Raith Rovers, and I know that it is a notoriously hard place to go to,” said McGinn. “Nobody goes there and wins comfortably, so we know we have to be up for a real fight and it is a big six-pointer.
“The fans stuck with us again today and they never turned on us, so they deserve to win.”
The landscape at St Mirren has certainly changed since McGinn left the club for Watford back in 2010, but his hope is to help the club bounce back to somewhere near what he feels is their level.
“I left seven years ago and we were in the top half of the SPL and had just qualified for the semi-final of the League Cup, so it’s obviously a different place,” he said.
“But the foundations are in place. I think the manager will be a very good manager and I wouldn’t have come back for anyone else.
“We’ve got everything in place – the fans, the stadium, the training ground – to be a Premiership club. We’re in a dire position at the minute, and we’ve got to do everything we can to stay in the league first and foremost.
“I know the club well, it’s my local team and to keep them up would be a massive achievement personally and as a team.
“It’s a big challenge for me and that was the reason I came back.”