Football Season Guide

St Mirren have had a difficult recent spell. Since winning the League Cup last season, they plummeted down the standings and were fortunate to avoid the worst of the relegation battle thanks to some solid early season form. Manager Stephen Robinson was heavily criticised for his direct style the leaned heavily on physical defending and set pieces. Ultimately, it was seen as something of a blessing when he left for Aberdeen, yet Saints have opted for a cheap replacement in Craig McLeish, who failed to win over the doubters last season. Saints’ work in the transfer market over the summer is somewhat alarming. They have lost a couple of key figures in the form of central midfielder Mark O’Hara, who was so long a talisman, and Miguel Freckleton, who was the pick of their defensive players. This was already a squad lacking in quality, but that is doubly the case now. Scoring power was a major issue last season. They did not have a single player with more than 4 league goals to their credit, with Freckleton one of these. Killian Phillips and Mikael Mandron were their most dangerous players but lacked consistency. Eseosa Sula’s arrival from WBA is expected to solve this issue but Saints are still carrying makeweights offensively. In order to take some of the burden from the forwards, they have recruited Samuel Ramos and Chris Mochrie, though neither has experience at this level. Indeed, Saints seem to have too many players challenging for central midfield roles. Keanu Baccus’ return was meant to herald an improvement last season but he failed to hit his left level. Saints’ defence will go a long way to deciding their season. They have elected not to replace Freckleton thus far but do look light of cover in the heart of the rearguard so they could well sign before the deadline. Veteran Alex Gogic will be important. In goal, they have recruited Jacob Chapman, who was a regular for League Two strugglers Crawley last season. His performances there were relatively strong, but there are doubts over his pedigree.