Stephen Robinson says he will “take it as a compliment” that people who work under him move on to better roles.
The latest to bloom from the Robinson coaching tree is Diarmuid O’Carroll who was announced as the Under-21s coach at English Premier League side Newcastle United.
O’Carroll joins a long list of successful people to move on from Robbo’s team with Stephen McManus, Stevie Hammell and Darren O’Dea all moving to Celtic after their time under the Northern Irishman in his Motherwell days.
And the Buddies boss has paid homage to his current club St Mirren for their role in developing people too.
“I think it is a testament to the football club that we had structures in place,” he said. “Diarmuid has been fantastic for me since Motherwell, really. But it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down; one of the biggest clubs financially in the world now and a huge football institution.
“I have no doubt if he is crazy enough, he can go on and be a very good manager if he decides that’s a route he wants to go down. A lot of people that have worked with me and our staff have gone on [to do well].
“We have two boys that are working at Celtic – Stephen McManus and Stevie Hammell – and Darren O’Dea who worked under us. Now we have got Diarmuid working at Newcastle.
“So, hopefully people understand that we develop coaches, players and people at the same time at the club.”
The Buddies announced Brian Kerr would step up to fill the assistant manager void after his time in a development/first-team transition phase role at Ralston. For the last year, he has been working a lot more closely with Robbo and the first team squad.
A new appointment is expected to be made in the coming days for someone to fill Kerr’s old position – with Robbo confirming they have already completed talks with the individual concerned.
The manager believes Kerr coming in as assistant provides “new challenges” as he is someone with a lot of experience.
He said: “It is good. It is good for everybody. You get new challenges and new ideas. Brian comes with a vast amount of experience in terms of playing at a very good level.
“Also, he has worked closely with us in the last year and he has been an assistant manager before.
“I don’t think there is any great change and the players get on really well with him. He is a good character and has a real work ethic and energy that I require to work at this football club.”
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