EUROPEISOUR BIGGOALNOW
Saints skipper wants reward for fans
Mark O’Hara savoured St Mirren making the top six – then revealed reaching Europe would be a dream come true.
The Buddies were guaranteed a top-half Premiership finish, despite Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Hearts, as St Johnstone stunned Hibernian 2-1 at Easter Road.
A sold-out SMiSA Stadium was able to celebrate in the sunshine with the pressure off and a game to spare before the split.
Now skipper O’Hara and his teammates will re-focus and embrace the historic challenge of bringing European football back to Paisley for the first time in 37 years.
The 28-year-old midfielder said: “I think there’s a lot to play for.
“We’ve got some really big games coming up. As a group, we know we’re more than capable of achieving a European finish and Europe has to be the goal now.
“It would be a dream for the club. “Making the top six was the first objective and we’ve ticked that off.
“We’ll make sure we enjoy it but to get European football now would be massive.
“The fans deserve that for how they’ve been this season and the players and staff deserve it for how hard we’ve worked.
“We’re under no illusion it’s going to be tough but we fully believe we’ve got more than enough in our group.”
Saints’ top-six achievement means a lot to Barrhead boy O’Hara who recognises the impact European football could have in terms of building the club and attracting new players this summer.
“It would be even more special if we make it into Europe now,” he added.
“We dreamed about that at the start of the season and we’ve got a real opportunity to do that now.
“Finances would be better if we get into Europe and it would certainly be a carrot for players to have the chance to play European football.
“Anything is possible once you get in there.”
Saints have clinched back-to-back top-six finishes in the top flight for the first time in four decades and O’Hara appreciates both the landmark and the backing they’ve received from the black-and-white army.
“Looking back on this period,” he said, “I think it will be a big achievement.
“It’s testament to the manager [Stephen Robinson], the staff and everyone in the group.
“It’s massive that we’ve done this twice in a row. It’s a statement of intent and long may it continue.
“Since I came here last season, the fans have been amazing.
“It’s a big part of why we’ve been successful. Hopefully it continues over the years to come because we’ve got an opportunity to achieve even more.”