Robinson remaining grounded after 100th celebration

BEVERLEY, KEMPTON, WARWICK & WINDSOR RACECARDS: PAGE 17

Stephen Robinson marked his 100th game as St Mirren boss with a stunning win — then admitted he wanted to stay out of the spotlight.

The Buddies gaffer remained in the background as he was serenaded by the black-and-white army following their 3-1 victory at Dundee.

The Northern Irishman now stands on the brink of leading fifth-placed Saints into Europe for the first time since 1987.

And while Robbo paid tribute to the people who have helped turn around the club’s fortunes, he insists it is far from job done.

He said:“You have to enjoy these times and why not? But my job is to stay grounded and keep the players grounded.

“I’m proud of the players and the staff. I’m not one that craves the limelight so I want the players to get the credit.

“The expectation at St Mirren has risen incredibly over the two-and-a-half years we’ve been here and it’s solely down to the players and the hard work of people behind the scenes.

“Keith Lasley [chief operating officer] and the staff deserve a special mention. We’ve not achieved anything yet, though.

“There’s nine points to play for and we’ll be doing everything in our power to try and catch Kilmarnock first and foremost.

“We want to finish the season as strongly as we possibly can. There’s a real determination in that dressing room to finish this off now.”

Robbo savoured his side’s show at Dens Park and added:“I thought the performance was excellent. They looked like they were enjoying their football from start to finish and I thought we thoroughly deserved to win.

“Some of our recent performances have been good without getting the end product but here we had a steely grind to it as well. We were clinical and we defended well.

“Credit to Dundee for what they have achieved but this was our day.”