Derby rout set us on right path
Midfielder says Saints have bounced back
Ian McShane insists St Mirren’s mauling at the hands of Morton has been the catalyst for their recent form.
The midfielder, a summer signing from Ross County, played the full 90 minutes as the Buddies fell 4-1 at the hands of their Renfrewshire rivals a fortnight ago, consigning the Paisley side to just their second competitive derby defeat in 18 years.
Since then St Mirren have gone on to knock East Kilbride out of the Irn-Bru Cup, and earned credible wins over Livingston and Dundee United in the Championship. The defeats of Livi and United have seen the momentum swing back in favour of St Mirren, as they continue to flex their promotion-chasing muscles.
But McShane reckons that the loss to ‘Ton has played a crucial role in the recent success.
He told Express Sport : “The Morton game was a bad one, it goes without saying. Going down to 10 men made it difficult.
“But we have bounced back from that since then and have had good results.
“It was hard to take. Over the rest of the weekend you were sitting thinking about it but you just have to come back in and get on with it.
“The game on the Tuesday night helped us to get it out of our systems and helped us to kick on straight away. We knew that we just had to get on with it and focus on each game as they came, and it is working.
“Promotion is the target and we want to be up there at the top of the league. We are all in the same mindset and pulling in the one direction to make it happen.
“It is hard to believe that this is the same team that was 90 minutes away from being in the relegation play- offs last season but the way the manager works on the training ground is brilliant.
“He is full of ideas. He is great and it is easy to see that his hard work is paying off.”
McShane was on the scoresheet for St Mirren for the first time on Saturday, netting the third in the 3-0 rout of Dundee United.
And the midfielder admits the win has given the team a massive confidence boost.
He added: “They are tipped to be favourites for the league so to go and beat them convincingly was great.
“The plan was to always shut them down. We knew that they would try and pass it so we thought if we could nick the ball further up the pitch then we would get chances from that. And it worked because that is how we got one of the goals.
“I’m delighted with my strike – I was due one to be fair.
“I’m loving it here. It is good to be back playing regular football and all the boys have been brilliant.
“The manager and James Fowler have been fantastic with me and long may it continue.”