The Sunday Post (Newcastle)

Steve salutes boys for giving him everything

- By Ewing Grahame SPORT@SUNDAYPOST.COM

There may be 35 fixtures still to be fulfilled in the 2022/23 Premiershi­p campaign but St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson believes that this narrow win was absolutely crucial in terms of his team moving forward.

It lifted them from 12th place up to eighth and the Irishman claims that just looking at the Premiershi­p table and not seeing themselves at the foot of it will be a huge psychologi­cal boost for his newlook team.

“The boys are human, they read things and they make pressure up in their heads,” he said. “Pressure to me is when you can’t pay your mortgage but they’re young boys with feelings and they’re trying ever so hard to give everything. I’m so happy that they got a result today.

“Their work rate was incredible – I couldn’t have asked for any more from them. The boys have given it everything in the previous matches and they did exactly the same today.

“When you have boys like that who are willing to play for the badge on the front of the shirt and not the name on the back then it makes all the difference – and they do that in abundance.

“I think if we can be as organised and discipline­d as that then we’re going to be very hard to break down.”

Robinson praised goal hero Richard Tait, whose magnificen­t strike proved to be the difference between the teams.

“He’s actually done that a few times in training,” he claimed. “He also scored a couple of decent goals for me at Motherwell. He’s technicall­y very good and with both feet so it was no real surprise.”

County boss Malky Mackay argued that his team had only themselves to blame.

“In the first half we weren’t at our normal level and one moment of quality told in the game,” he said.

“We stepped it up in the second half with crosses into the box but it was too slow a start today. We have to realise the perfect ball isn’t always going to sit up for you – sometimes you take a shot and a deflection puts it in the net.

“We had five or six great crosses from Callum Johnson but we didn’t gamble enough. We have to go back to the drawing board and learn to make sure we take chances when we get them.

“Right now, we need to reflect on what we didn’t do well and get better for Kilmarnock.”

 ?? ?? St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom