GAFFER OPENS UP ON CHANGES AHEAD ROBBO IS SET TO LOSE HIS TOPTALENT
Robinson accepts players will move on
Published by the Paisley Daily Express, 55 Douglas Street, Glasgow, G2 7NP and printed by Reach Printing Services (Saltire) Ltd , Cardonald Park, G51 4EA registered at the Post Office as a newspaper
Stephen Robinson is braced for losing half his team as St Mirren close in on Europe.
The Northern Irish gaffer admits “five or six” players look set to be on the move this summer as clubs eye the Buddies top talent.
Contract offers have been made to several first-team stars but some have already indicated that they will likely be leaving Paisley.
Robbo acknowledges it’s just part of the game – especially with Saints having registered back-toback top-six Premiership finishes and on the brink of bringing European football back to Paisley for the first time since 1987.
He insists every member of his squad is committed to ensuring a successful end to the season.
However, the manager revealed he has plenty of work to do in the transfer market.
“We’ve got a lot of conversations underway in positions that we’ll lose because we’ll have a bit of a rebuilding job,” he said.
“There are five or six players from the starting line-up we’ll lose that we already know about.
“It’s going to be vital that we get the right players in and it will take time for those players to get to the levels of the players that are leaving.
“We’ve put our very best contract offers to them and we’d love them to stay but some have indicated that won’t be the case and others are in negotiations.
“It’s a difficult one at the moment but what I know is every player will give everything for the football club until the end of the season.
“That we all treat the club with respect is all I ask.
“A lot of players let their contracts run down so it’s very hard to create assets out of them – they are a lot braver than I was as a player. I would have had a 20-year contract at 20 quid a week.
“It’s the culture. It’s difficult to plan because they will have options as we’ve done well and we have a limit that we can go to.
“We’ve made good offers and sometimes you just have to accept that won’t be quite enough to get the player to sign.
“I have to have contingency plans for all of them if they stay or don’t stay.”
Clinching European football will be worth a minimum £450,000 to Saints and give the club leverage when it comes to signing players.
Robbo is aiming to move quickly when it comes to getting deals done and will stick to the recruitment model that has worked well during his tenure.
He added: “I like to do my business early because when we get into competition with people we generally lose out.
“Until the ink is dry, I’ll wait before I say something will definitely happen.
“There will be a little bit of transition. The players that will leave, we’ve had two years with them. They’ve got fitter, got stronger and got into our way of thinking and learned our style of play. Ultimately, we believe that the players we’re signing can be as strong eventually.
“People are leaving to get good, good wages now and we have to develop those that come here to be that player that gets good wages or we get good transfer fees for them.”