GATEWAYTAY EUROPE Black-and-whitearmysetforDensroadtripasstriker looksaheadto‘massive’chanceofgrabbingcovetedspot
Mikael Mandron reckons St Mirren’s trip to Dundee will be a Euro shoot-out.
The fifth-placed Buddies are two points clear of the Dark Blues ahead of this Saturday’s crunch clash at Dens Park.
Both teams opened up their post-split fixtures with 2-1 defeats to either side of the Old Firm – Saints lost to Rangers while Dee went down at home to Celtic.
A black-and-white army numbering at least 1,300 will descend on Tayside at the weekend and Mandron knows it’s because European football is the prize at stake.
“It’s massive and this will probably determine who is going to finish fifth which is our target,” the 11-goal hitman said.
“It will be a completely different game. We will prepare as we always do and give it our best.
“It’s been almost 40 years since we were last in Europe and, for the boys, it would be an amazing experience.
“And for the profile of the club. Just getting a chance to compete against these teams would be good.
“We deserve it as we have worked so hard to get to where we are now.
“We’re in a place where we have a really strong chance to get fifth. Throughout the season, we’ve put in great performances and got good results.
“We’re going to try and keep that up.” Mandron, 29, insists Saints can take plenty of positives from Sunday’s loss to Gers and added: “The most important thing is we can’t fear anyone.”
Meanwhile, the Buddies were yesterday linked with a move for Crystal Palace defender Kofi Balmer.
The 23-year-old Northern Irishman spent the first half of this season on loan at Port Vale in Sky Bet League One before moving to League Two AFC Wimbledon for the second part of the campaign.
Balmer has a year remaining on his contract but it’s thought the Eagles would not prevent him flying the nest if he can secure first-team football elsewhere.