Will McLeish stay after St Mirren's rollercoaster season?

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• Published2 hours ago

Almost as soon as the full-time whistle went in Paisley on Monday, amid the St Mirren celebrations, thoughts turned to what comes next for a club who have experienced the highest of highs and some low lows this season.

In December, they won the League Cup with a magnificent victory over Celtic at Hampden - another triumph for manager Stephen Robinson after three straight top-six finishes in the Scottish Premiership.

However, the consistent league form that had characterised Robinson's tenure evaporated this term despite their cup heroics.

They were dragged into a relegation battle, and when Robinson departed for Aberdeen in March, former youth coach Craig McLeish was thrust into interim charge with one brief - survive.

And survive they did, by the barest of margins, as Marcus Fraser's goal earned a 2-1 aggregate victory over Partick Thistle in the Premiership play-off final, a 1-0 home win on Monday sealing the job.

McLeish has made no secret of his desire to stay in the role and he reiterated that wish after the full-time whistle.

"I imagine [chief operating officer] Keith [Lasley] will start to have conversations about that over the next few days," McLeish said when asked by BBC Scotland about his future.

"We spoke about taking care of everything and whatever the outcome is, the club will plan their future from there.

"I'm privileged that the club put trust in me to take the team on. If I get the opportunity to lead the group, my biggest thing is to make sure we're never in that type of position again.

"I've felt I'm capable of doing the job and handling the full thing. I've felt that from day one. This is what I've always been building towards.

"I can't control when I would get the opportunity. I just had to show I was ready to go and I hope I have shown people that."

• St Mirren defeat Partick Thistle in play-off to keep Premiership place

• Podcast: Reaction as St Mirren secure their top-flight status

Has McLeish done enough to earn job?

It was far from a convincing performance against Thistle, hardly surprising given what was at stake, and the relief from fans and players alike was obvious after the game.

"We wanted to make sure the players were remembered as legends at this club after winning the League Cup," McLeish said.

"We didn't want that black mark against our name.

"First half was nervy, cagey and full of mistakes. It wasn't really tactical, just us controlling our emotions. We did that better in the second half."

McLeish won three of his nine league matches after Robinson left, but he was unable to keep St Mirren out of the play-off spot as Kilmarnock shone after the split.

A change of approach initially yielded an upturn in performances, but results started to slide and a run of four defeats without scoring cost them.

The 36-year-old stand-in boss was unable to completely solve the goalscoring issues that plagued their season.

Key defender Alex Gogic says McLeish could do more with greater time, though, and would be happy for him to stay on.

"Yeah, of course, whatever the club chooses," Gogic said.

"If he has a pre-season, it will probably be better than what it is. If the club decide to go his way, we'll all be behind that."

Former Dundee United and Partick Thistle boss Ian McCall says McLeish has done his chances no harm by steering St Mirren to safety.

"I don't think he had any chance of getting the job if St Mirren were relegated," McCall said.

"What he has done is conducted himself really well and given himself a real chance of the job.

"The power-that-be here took a real chance appointing a young lad like that. But he has come through it really well. He has talked really well.

"He came through one dodgy moment when Kilmarnock won here 3-0. But he's come back from that really strongly.

"It didn't just plummet when Craig McLeish took over. It was a bad run of results when Stephen Robinson was there after the cup final which brought this on. He certainly has a chance."

What do fans think?

Neil: Lay off McLeish - he delivered what the board asked for.

Iain: Phew, Saints survive! Now let us find a good manager. Please not McLeish, who thinks he is so good.

Sean: If there's ever been a match won by a team that didn't deserve to, it was this. St Mirren need to change a lot of things at their club or they're going to be facing automatic relegation next season.

Alan: Wow, don't want to go through that again. First half was terrible again and felt one goal would probably decide it - luckily went our way. Massive clearout needed and a manager with experience as McLeish ain't the answer.

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  • Published18 June 2023