Robinson still focused on safety — not history
STEPHEN ROBINSON has refused to accept that St Mirren are on the verge of creating history despite moving a huge step closer to sealing a first-ever top-six finish.
Second-half Curtis Main and Alex Gogic goals gave the Buddies a first win in Gorgie for 10 years and left St Mirren five clear of seventh-placed Livingston with just two games to go before the split.
But with a trip to Rangers awaiting the Paisley outfit next week before they round off the first 33 games with a clash at home to Kilmarnock, Robinson was not getting carried away.
‘No, not yet,’ said Robinson when asked if his side were close to sealing a place in the top half of the league.
‘Can we still get relegated? I’ll sleep better when I know we can’t get relegated.
‘This group of players just keep defying the odds.
‘The squad we have here have got a real belief in themselves. We believed we could come here and win today — there was no bravado in that.
‘We believed we could do that. We proved that and now we need to go to Ibrox and get points.
‘The top six will be guaranteed when no one can catch us and at the moment, teams can still catch us.’
Robinson believes the atmosphere inside Tynecastle actually helped his team. Even at 0-0 in the first half, Hearts fans turned on their side and their unease at what they were witnessing only grew as the game went on.
‘Our game plan was to let them play out from the back and get into areas where they were a bit more open,’ added Robinson.
‘When people make mistakes, it’s difficult because their crowd got on to them a bit and it gave us momentum.
‘We started not the way we usually do and for the first 20 minutes, there was nervousness from both sides.
‘And we were caught between whether to press high or sit where we usually sit, but we changed it after 20 minutes and after that we felt comfortable and forced Hearts into areas that we wanted them to play in and took the ball off them.
‘Our decision-making wasn’t as good in the first half, but in the second half, it was excellent.
‘Hearts are a good side who have players who can change the game, so we had to concentrate and be disciplined and credit to the players to win at a very, very difficult venue.’