Tears & a tactical tweak – how Robinson hatched St Mirren triumph

On the morning of what would prove to be one of the finest days in St Mirren’s history, Stephen Robinson had his team in tears.

The manager, who will now surely go down as one of the best to ever guide the Paisley side, gathered the thoughts, feelings and messages from the families of his squad to motivate them for their Premier Sports Cup final meeting with Celtic.

‘This is who you’re doing it for’ was the message.

«We had a little moment before the game, where the manager showed us a video of all our families and we were all emotional,» said defender Miguel Freckleton.

«None of us knew about it, so he stuck on a family photo and then he started going around and everyone was ready for their family.

«It was getting a bit emotional, so it was tough but that definitely gave us a boost of confidence.»

Conor McMenamin, who Robinson brought over from Northern Ireland two years ago, joked: «I didn’t think it motivated us, we were all sad getting on the bus!»

Injured captain Mark O’Hara admitted: «There were a few tears.»

It perhaps sums up Robinson and his management best that he was still able to surprise the squad he knows so well on the day they needed it most.

Few would think getting the waterworks going would work wonders, but it did that and then some as St Mirren carried the weight of responsibility on their shoulders with little fuss.

Before a ball was kicked, the team saluted their supporters in a way that, even then, 22 minutes before Marcus Fraser headed them in front, suggested they knew this was their day.

«We just felt it, we had that belief all week,» said the second-minute goalscorer.

«We knew what we had,» Freckleton stressed. «We’ve got unity, do you know what I mean?

«They’ve obviously come in with a new manager, and that togetherness might not be there, because the manager’s not built that yet, but we knew we had that.»

«We met the fans at the calendar signing this week and this was all they spoke about,» two-goal hero Jonah Ayunga told BBC Scotland.

«To get the chance to play in this, let alone win it and score, I couldn’t imagine it any better. Not a bad day’s work, eh?»

Not a bad day’s work at all.

And in truth, it wasn’t even the most gruelling day at the office for the most outstanding of rewards.

When they were here last month for the semi-final against Motherwell, the St Mirren players were met with a ‘faith over fear’ tifo from the fans.

On a gloomy day at Hampden, St Mirren had all the faith in themselves to achieve their second success in this competition.

«I said to the players if you play with fear, that means you’re not organised, that means you don’t have belief in you ability,» Robinson explained.

«We said have faith, you are stronger, you are quicker, you are good and good players that can cause real problems.»

That message rung true in the second half as they dismantled the cup holders.

Having ended the first-half on the back foot after Reo Hatate hammered home a leveller, St Mirren might have been expected to retreat into their shell.

But Robinson ripped up the script.

«I wasn’t happy with the last 20 minutes of the first half,» he added.

«We changed it, put Keanu Baccus to man-mark [Callum] McGregor, and our two centre-forwards man-marked their outside centre-halves.

«We left the middle one on the ball, and that’s where we pressed from.

«I knew we’d create a lot of counter-attacking chances doing that. It’s nice for the tactics to come off for once.»

Said in jest, it’s far from the first time Robinson has masterminded a fine St Mirren win. But this was his most important victory.

Danny Lennon, who led the Saints to their first League Cup triumph in 2013, said Robinson had «laid the foundations for an incredible era» at the club.

Three consecutive top-six finishes and a return to European football for the first time in 37 years brought accolades – but he wanted silverware to show for it.

Robinson had twice taken Motherwell to Hampden finals, falling short against Celtic each time.

He came up trumps in his third final – with no luck involved.

«This is once in a lifetime,» said Ayunga. «I’ve been playing since I was 17, I’m nearly 30, this was the first time I had a chance to win anything.

«The manager deserves it. You see what he’s done year upon year. This is the icing on the cake.»

McMenamin, 30, added: «We came here and believed in ourselves, believed we could beat Celtic.

«We deserved to put our hands on that trophy. It’s the only thing this team hasn’t got in the last few years – top-six finishes, Europe. To get silverware now, we’ll go down in history.»

Go down in history they will. This will be a team who are talked about in the highest regard around Paisley. Robinson won’t ever need to buy a pint again.

«I think I’ve got the freedom of Vienna’s nightclub, I know that,» he laughed on his way to the town centre party.