St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson has claimed another scalp as Philippe Clement became the NINTH boss to be sacked after slipping up against one of the Northern Irishman’s teams.
But the modest St Mirren manager admits that’s not a boast he should be shouting about. Robinson has proved to be a jinx for a string of under-pressure coaches during stints in charge of Motherwell and the Buddies. In Paisley alone, he’s seen off Hearts gaffers Robbie Neilson and Steven Naismith, St Johnstone counterpart Steven MacLean as well as Rangers’ Gio van Bronckhorst.
Now Clement – whose presided over Gers’ first home defeat to Saints in 34 years on Saturday – is the latest to be binned after crossing paths with Robbo. But the Saints chief said: “It’s not a good thing to have is it really? The boys joke that if I beat you it must be bad! But it’s not nice. There’s a human side to football management as well that people don’t see.
“They don’t see the kids. They don’t see the family and the sacrifices people make in it. You’re just a target and the narrative is you have to take it as it’s just what’s expected in this job. It doesn’t make it any easier. We do expect it and we deal with it. It certainly doesn’t make it any easier. I have nothing but admiration for every manager in this league. I have admiration for Philippe.
“He was always very respectful to me and very complimentary. I have no doubt when he decides he will be back in a very good job again. It’s a cutthroat industry. There’s no patience, there’s no time. And I’ve just huge respect for anybody that’s brave enough to stand up and do it because a lot of people talk about it.”
Clement is packing his bags but Robinson knows the feeling having been put through the sack misery himself during a spell in charge of Oldham. The 50-year-old – who also resigned as Motherwell boss in 2020 after a difficult spell – said: “As a player and a manager, I think I’ve been through 15 houses now because you move and you don’t get settled. There’s times you have to leave your kids. You can throw in a divorce in to that as well.
“But there’s so much pressure for your family to move with you. And they do. Me and my wife Robyn have had four or five houses up here already now. So it’s your family who are the unsung heroes really. It is because of these tough times that have to enjoy moments like Saturday. I make sure the players enjoy it. I make sure they celebrate wildly after every win because you don’t know when it’s coming again. I make sure they enjoy each other’s company.
“I make sure they celebrate with the fans who have endured tough times this season and throughout the last 40 years and good times as well. So you have to enjoy that there but when you get back up on a Sunday morning you’re back again preparing for Hearts, seeing who’s fit because we have injury problems galore. It’s relief when you win and then it’s depression for three days when you lose.
“So there’s no way around that. I’ve not found a way to get around that yet and I’ve been managing for a long time now. But the will to win and the desire to win is never going to go away. So unfortunately that’s how it affects you.”
Thankfully for Robinson, he’s not got much to worry about these days with his side back in the top six and aiming for a second successive season in Europe. A result against Hearts at Tynecastle tonight would go a long way to making that a reality.
He said: “Absolutely it’s credit to this squad of players for doing that.
“The achievements they’ve got over the last three years have surpassed everyone’s expectations. They’ve surpassed things that have been done in the last 40 years – beating Rangers twice in one season, winning at Ibrox.
“It was a very good performance. It was a performance we expected because we’ve been building to that and we have been playing well without maybe getting those results. Although we have beat Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen and Rangers now as well. So we’ve beat all the top sides in the league. Maybe it isn’t a surprise as much anymore. We’ve said that there’s no pressure on us. The pressure is on the other teams. Hearts are expected to be a top three, top four side.
“We aren’t. We shouldn’t be. Maybe we are, but we shouldn’t be. So we’ve gone and we’ll go and enjoy the game again like we’ve done at Ibrox.”
Meanwhile, Robbo has confirmed kid Evan Mooney is likely to play his final game of the season when Saints host Celtic on Saturday.
“Evan requires surgery next week,” he said. “But if he trains on Friday, then we may be able to involve him in the Celtic game. It’s a minor injury. But our decision, along with his family, was to have it done now to make sure he’s 100 percent right for next season.
“It’s just a tidy up of his ankle. But that would rule him out for the rest of the season, which is a blow to us. But we want him 100% right.
“And it’s a conscious decision based on his age as well that we make sure we look after him.”