Stephen Robinson heaped praise on shock troops Aberdeen – but is confident his Buddies will meet the moment this weekend.
St Mirren return to Premiership action following the international window with the unbeaten Dons arriving at the SMiSA Stadium.
Club chiefs reported that over 7,200 tickets had been sold while the Red Army are expected to snap up their entire allocation.
Only goal difference keeps Aberdeen off top spot but, while Saints boss Robbo is impressed with the work of counterpart Jimmy Thelin, he reckons his own team can producing a winning performance.
He said: “I think Aberdeen have had a terrific start. There wasn’t a lot in the first game we played them but they have grown since then. The results have been fantastic so credit to the manager and the players but also to Dave Cormack [chairman], the board and Alan Burrows [chief executive] for the backing they have given financially. You have to admire and respect that.
“They have a really good squad so that after 60-70 minutes, they change it. They have a real energy coming off the bench.
“Not loads has changed but the changes have been very positive. A lot of the players were already there and he seems to be getting the very best out of people. Credit to him for coming in and adjusting to the Scottish game straight away. He has been a huge success.
“We’re facing a team that is really in form and staying on the tails of Celtic but we’re looking forward to it. We’re confident at home and confident in how we’re playing at the moment.”
Saints have their sights set on a mini rebuild in the new year following the departures of experienced players.
“We have a tough run now until March but we will add to the squad in January,” Robbo acknowledged.
“There will be money available to bolster the squad again. We’ve got targets and you need a long, long list when you’re St Mirren manager because most of them disappear for financial reasons or because they don’t want to come to Scotland.”
Robbo says back-up keeper Peter Urminsky has agreed a contract extension but isn’t hopeful Richard Taylor and Toyosi Olusanya will accept deals currently on the table.
“There’s been no further progress,” he added. “It looks at this moment in time that we won’t be able to come to an agreement which we respect.
“We won’t give up. We will see where we are come the end of January, and to see if we can go further, but they are very good offers from the football club so I’m not sure we can.”
New short-term signing Declan John looks set to feature in Saturday’s matchday squad while Alex Iacovitti has resumed training following a serious hamstring injury but fellow centre-back Charles Dunne (hamstring) is still out.
He said: “Declan played a 90-minute [bounce] game against Kilmarnock so he has that under his belt. Now it’s about getting him up to speed but he has shown his quality.”
Meanwhile, over in Norway, SK Brann appear on the verge of clinching the Eliteserien title. The Bergen men – who beat Saints 4-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League – are two points clear at the top with just two games remaining.
On Saturday, Brann travel to Molde FK while second-placed Bodo/Glimt visit rock-bottom Odd and Robbo insists Saints can look back fondly on well they performed against a top team clearly going places.
“They had very good technical players,” he reflected. “I watched their warm-up and it scared the life out of me.
“The second game showed what a good performance we had. You can look back with pride and you can see that it is a really competitive league and they are a really talented side.”
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