Baird’s chance to impress at Buddies

A DECADE after joining them as a 14-year-old,

Jack Baird is determined to ensure this season at St Mirren won’t be his last.

The central defender is out of contract next year and has set his sights on doing enough to persuade Jim Goodwin that he is worthy of an extension.

To do so, Baird must first of all do what he couldn’t last summer and hang around to impress Goodwin at close quarters.

The appointment of his former defensive partner as manager ought to have been a positive step for the 24-year-old. Instead, he found himself falling down the pecking order and then sent out on loan to Morton where he stayed for the remainder of the campaign.

Now a new season brings a clean slate for everyone. Goodwin is still in the process of reconstructing a squad and Baird knows he must take his chance.

‘It’s down to myself if I’m going to stay this season,’ he admitted. ‘This is the last year of my contract so it’s obviously a big one for me.

‘We’ve only been back for a week and the manager is concentrating on recruitment because we need bodies in, so I’ll just try and have a good pre-season and take it from there.

‘The manager came in last year and had to build his own team and I understand that. But I’ve now got a pre-season and maybe some friendlies to impress him.

‘I’ve had a lot of good times at St Mirren. Some of the seasons have been unbelievable. There’s nothing I’d change about my career so far.’

Baird recalls Goodwin, at that time assistant manager to Tommy Craig, giving him a call the night before his debut back in November 2014 to help settle his nerves.

‘Jim phoned me and told me it was a big challenge for me,’ added Baird (pictured). ‘I remember him telling me I deserved my chance and wishing me luck.

‘With the way the season was going he was saying if I went in and did a good job then it would reflect well. But we lost 3-0!

‘I made my debut the same day as Stevie Mallan and we both probably had sleepless nights because you’d dreamed of it as a kid. So it was good for the gaffer to phone me. And now six years on he’s the guy I’m trying to prove myself to.’