Stephen Robinson insists there is more to come from top-of-the-table St Mirren
Posted Sunday, August 13, 2023 by PA
Stephen Robinson believes there is more to come from his St Mirren side after they moved top of the cinch Premiership with a 2-1 victory over Dundee.
The Buddies have won their opening two fixtures of the season and find themselves three points clear at the summit of the league table following a well-deserved success at the SMISA Stadium.
Joe Shaughnessy’s own goal and Mikael Mandron’s header had the hosts in control at half-time, though Josh Mulligan netted to set up a nervy conclusion.
Having thrown away a 2-0 lead against Hibernian in their last fixture before clinching a late victory, there was clear tension when Dundee clawed a goal back and Robinson is looking for more composure from his team.
“Result wise it has been very good. In both games we’ve went 2-0 up, lot’s of good quality – in the first half we should have been up by more,” he said.
“We need a little bit more composure in managing the game, it became a little bit frantic and panicky but we still created chances.
“We were resolute and showed real determination to hang on. We’ve managed to pick up results while we’re improving and I think we’ll continue to improve.”
St Mirren recorded their first ever top-six finish in the Premiership last season and Robinson’s side have continued their excellent form into the new campaign.
The Saints gaffer believes team spirit has been key to their success and insists everyone is striving to make the club better.
“The boys that came in took their chances today. I just think it’s the characters we’ve got in the squad, there’s a never-say-die attitude,” he added.
“When times are hard and you’re struggling you need to be able to look around and know you can trust the people next to you – I feel like the squad do that, they trust the staff and the people that we are trying to make the club better bit by bit within our means.”
Dundee boss Tony Docherty says his side must learn quickly after falling to their first defeat since promotion to the Premiership.
Zach Robinson missed a penalty during what was a well below-par showing from the Dark Blues in the first half.
They would put in a much improved display after the restart, but it was to be a case of too little too late.
“I felt we didn’t start the game well and St Mirren were by far the better team in the first half,” Docherty said.
“In the second half we changed the shape and we were really unlucky not to get a point and maybe even go on and win it if we’d got that second goal.
“I’ve got experience of this league, it’s punishing and if you don’t take your opportunities then it’ll come back and bite you – that happened today.
“We need to learn quick. In both games we’ve played, we’ve probably merited more points than we’ve taken.
“There’s a lot of boys it’s their first time playing in the Premier League, the positive to take is we’ve shown we are good enough.”
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