Football Season Guide

St Mirren have constantly overachieved in the Scottish Premiership in recent years, with manager Stephen Robinson one of the major reasons for the Paisley club managing to punch above their weight. Although they missed out on a second European qualification in succession last term, a top-six finish was an excellent outcome for the Buddies. Now the question is: can they replicate their efforts? Saints’ League Cup efforts suggests they are coming into the season in decent form, albeit two of the three games they had played at the time of writing were against League Two opponents. It was also notable that they conceded in two of their three fixtures, with a solid defence typically a characteristic of their success. There have not been sizeable changes over the course of the summer, with the starting XI that Saints put out against Arbroath a familiar one compared to the squad they might have used last season. While 12 players have left the club, none would be considered essential, while loan stars Killian Phillips and Roland Idowu have both been retained. On top of this pair, Saints have made a smart addition in the form of combative midfielder Liam Donnelly, who should be a mainstay of the team alongside captain Mark O’Hara in the heart of the park. Indeed, with Saints primed to play a 3-4-3 formation again, the spine of the team will be important. New centre-backs Tunmise Sobowale and Miguel Freckleton will have roles to play. Saints are not known for their scoring power, yet they have some good options in attack via Jonah Ayunga and Mikael Mandron, who was patchy last season but seems to be coming back towards his best. These are players capable of firing them to the top six, particularly given Phillips and O’Hara should be chipping in from midfield. This is arguably the most settled squad in the established Premiership mid-table, and that should be a big advantage.