Stephen Robinson insists off-field issues haven’t blown his Buddies off course. The St Mirren gaffer has been impressed with the togetherness of his tight-knit group during a challenging few weeks.
Shaun Rooney, Kevin Van Veen and Jaden Brown have all left the club in the wake of sheriff court appearances. But the Paisley outfit are unbeaten in three games following an encouraging performance in a 2-1 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox and picked up seven points from a possible nine.
Saints went into the international window at the weekend sitting sixth in the Premiership, and with increased confidence, as they look ahead to the visit of in-form Aberdeen this Saturday.
And Robbo is proud of the efforts of his players who signed for a well-earned few days’ break with preparations for the Dons clash beginning today.
He said: “Has it had an impact on the squad? No. We’ve dealt with that. We have a brilliant group of boys here who fight and scrap for each other.
“It’s fine lines in football and I’m concentrating on the people that are available and the people I can affect. There’s a very good atmosphere as you guys will testify to. You see the boys and no one is feeling sorry for themselves.
“We just hope not to pick up any more knocks or injuries but you can’t take your foot off the gas in training. We train hard. You can’t take the intensity down or it affects your match performances.”
Robbo has acknowledged his squad is now stretched although the short-term signing of Welsh defender Declan John does ease the burden – particularly on the boys at the back.
With Charles Dunne and Alex Iacovitti out because of serious hamstring problems, the absences of Rooney and Brown have been keenly felt.
“It doesn’t make life any easier because we are numbers down to select from so that states the obvious,” the manager replied when asked how the off-field issues affected him in a strictly football sense.
“We’re obviously light on numbers in the defensive areas after Shaun and Jaden with Charles [Dunne…and Iacovitti] also injured.”
One man who has fought back to fitness is Northern Irish international Conor McMenamin. The 29-year-old winger scored a double in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road and his presence has allowed Robbo to deploy his favoured 3-4-3 system.
He added: “We haven’t struggled to score goals but have conceded too many. Conor gives us something different. He goes past players when games are tight. When he came on for the second half [against Ross County] he was the one giving us a spark and putting balls into the box.
“He’s been bright and lively in training and he allows me to go back to a system I prefer rather than what we were forced into earlier in the season. It’s a boost to have him back available again.”
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