Ross targets win over Utd as payback for Buddies fans’ backing over great escape bid STANDAND DELIVER...

JACK ROSS wants to repay the St Mirren supporters for their incredible loyalty by putting Dundee United to the sword tonight on their way to achieving Championship safety.

More than 4000 Saints fans turned out for the goalless draw against Dunfermline on Saturday and Ross expects another noisy support to turn out at the Paisley 2021 Stadium this evening.

The Buddies gaffer says the value of such a vociferous backing should not be underestimated and he hopes the football they are now seeing is worthy of it.

“The fanbase has been terrific and terrifically loyal,” Ross said. “I think they recognise there has been a change on the park and there is now a team that is a bit more reflective of their passion from the stands.

“I think that as long as you have that then you increase the bond between the players, the staff and the supporters and I feel that there may have been a bit of disconnect between us on the playing side and the supporters. I don’t think that is right for a club of our stature.

“It’s about building that again and my responsibility is to build that ultimately by winning games, but as long as we are making progress then they will continue to back us and that’s been seen.

“It’s massively important for us and it helps us hugely both home and away. They’ve been incredibly loyal through this period and hopefully we can reward them for that.

“I think we are a stronger team from the last time we played United and that bodes well.

“They are also coming off the disappointment of Friday night [defeat by Hibs] and with other results they have dropped further in the table.

“I feel as if we are at our best when we play the bigger teams and the game becomes more open, so I’d expect it to be the same.

“The quality players we have will relish this chance to test themselves. I think it will be an entertaining game and hopefully one we can win.”

The close links being fostered at the club don’t end on the stands and the pitch but extend into the dressing room, with the players themselves becoming a tight-knit unit of late.

Ross revealed that uniting the players in their common cause has been one of his main aims since taking the reins at Paisley.

He said: “A close team spirit is exactly what we are trying to build here and the players we brought in were brought here with that dual purpose in mind; to put a better team on the park but also to create a better feel around the club.

“It helped that I was able to bring in players that I knew and trusted like Stephen McGinn and Adam Eckersley, players I had worked with before, and then Cammy Smith, for example, from someone like Derek McInnes, who I know and trust.

“There are some you get a bit more fortunate with like Stelios, Billy O’Brien and Harry Davis, who are good characters as well, so it’s been a bit of accident and a bit of design.

“They’ve all come together really well and there is a real united purpose in what they are trying to do.

“I think that has been shown and though we would have still liked to have won more games, our recent form has, in the main, been very good and results have been better.

“If we can keep that going for the last quarter then we’ll give ourselves a good chance of getting out of the position we’re in.”