Buddies’ nosedive worries McGarvey

ONLY two months ago, the expectations among the St Mirren support were that the club could possibly qualify for Europe for the first time since 1987.

The Buddies were in the top six in the Premiership and due to face Hearts in the last eight of the Scottish Cup.

Then Jim Goodwin left to become manager of Aberdeen and the wheels fell off. Since then, the club has abseiled down the league table. Unbeaten in eight when Goodwin departed, they’ve lost seven of the eight matches under his successor, Stephen Robinson.

As they prepare to entertain Hibs in their first post-split fixture on Saturday they’re just six points clear of secondbottom St Johnstone and they face them in Perth the following weekend.

Buddies legend Frank McGarvey was part of the side which Alex Ferguson hauled into the top flight in 1977 and, a decade later, he was a star in the last Saints side to bring the Scottish Cup back to Paisley.

Now, though, he fears for the future of his alma mater, believing they may yet go down and unsure as to whether — or even when — they may be able to come back up.

‘It’s definitely a worrying time because they’re on a bad losing streak right now,’ he admitted. ‘It’s also the worst possible time to hit a run of bad form.

‘St Johnstone were at the foot of the table for months but they’ve been picking up results recently and that doesn’t bode well.

‘The big thing for me is all the negativity surrounding the club.

‘Goodwin, who did a fantastic job in his time there, has gone. Jak Alnwick, the keeper, is going. The chief executive, Tony Fitzpatrick — the best player the club ever had and also the best person ever to work for them — has also gone.

‘Tony has been a great servant and I feel for him because he’ll be hurting over what’s happening on the pitch.

‘Losing key men at the same time is never a good thing. Look what happened to Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson and (chief executive) David Gill left in 2013.’

McGarvey was upset when Goodwin moved on but was more dismayed when the man he regarded as his natural replacement didn’t get the job.

‘Jack Ross would have been a perfect fit,’ he claimed. ‘He did amazing things during his first spell, saving them from relegation to League One and then winning the Championship the following season.

‘For me, what Jack achieved was on a par to what Fergie did when he was the manager — Saints were going nowhere until he appeared on the scene. The team played some great stuff under Jack. I can only assume the cash wasn’t there for him.’

Former Motherwell and Morecambe manager Robinson desperately needs a win but McGarvey is concerned that publicly slating his players after games will prove to be counterproductive.

‘If you throw players under a bus, then they just won’t play for you and Saints need everyone pulling in the same direction right now,’ he said.

‘This could be a bad time for them. They can’t afford to go back down to the Championship but it could happen. Plus there are no guarantees they would come straight back up.’