Rae challenges players to earn themselves new deals

ALEX RAE, the St Mirren manager, has called on his players to prove they are worth a new contract between now and the end of the season.

The Paisley club have 11 first-team members who will become free agents during the summer, including club captain Steven Thompson, Jim Goodwin and Andy Webster. They will also see the likes of David Clarkson and Lawrence Shankland leave on the expiry of their loan deals.

Rae is due to meet with the St Mirren board to find out what budget he will have to work with for next season. But while he is already drawing up a mental list of who he wants to keep, the 46-yearold manager has thrown down the gauntlet to all his squad to prove to him they are worthy of fresh terms.

“I’m not singling out any player but what I will say is everyone is still in the mix,” said Rae. “We’ve obviously lost one or two players in recent weeks to injuries, so that frees a couple of players to go and have an opportunity.

“For me to single anyone out would be madness. Since I came in at Christmas time, they have all been showcasing. I see them every day.

“It’s maybe a case that one or two might show me something that makes me say ‘Well OK, that’s something we might need to relook at’.”

He added: “The thing is I have to sit down with the board to establish what the finances are going to be next year.

“I know it’s getting late in the day in terms of trying to get your business done but I suppose when we are safe will be the time to sit down and re-evaluate the whole thing.

“In my mind, I know exactly where I want to go but we haven’t started much of that yet.

“I know exactly who I’m looking to bring in and resign, but there’s still a lot of football left for someone to change my mind.”

Those hopefuls have only six games left to impress, and that starts this afternoon when St Mirren travel to Alloa.

While it is not mathematically possible for the bottom-placed Clackmannanshire side to catch their visitors, there is still a small risk that relegation play-off bound Livingston could claw back a 10-point deficit.

A win this afternoon would almost guarantee safety for Rae’s men, and he is keen to put the matter to bed quickly.

“I don’t want the season to peter out,” he said. “I want us to build on what we have already done and I think that is the demands we put on the players.”