To receive our full, free St Mirren newsletter straight to your email inbox, click here.
Confident Oisin Smyth insists St Mirren can make a dent in Europe and the Scottish Premiership this season.
The Northern Irishman is one of six new faces at St Mirren this season, eight if returns for James Scott and Jaden Brown are included.
And Smyth, 24, reckons Stephen Robinson has crafted a squad with the necessary depth to compete on all fronts this term ahead of their league curtain-raiser against Hibs on Sunday.
The Scottish Premiership opener comes just four days on from the historic 4-1 triumph over Valur in the Conference League.
“Having all of these games is going to get a bit of getting used to," admitted Smyth. "But that’s why we’ve built the squad to deal with that. If we can keep everyone fit, there’s no reason why we can’t push on.
“I think the result gives us confidence. We showed what we can do but I think there’s still more in us.
“Now it’s heads on Hibs. We’ll just be looking to deal with the league game and then see how we go.
“We haven’t lost sight of the importance of the league. We’re all looking forward to this match as much as we were to the European tie on Thursday.
“The gaffer will give us a pat on the back but will then bring us back down to earth, making sure we keep focused on the task on hand."
While Smyth - who made his debut in the away leg in Reykjavik - remains laser-focused on the upcoming Hibs encounter, he couldn't help but smile as he reflected on victory in Europe to set-up a tie against SK Brann in the third qualifying round.
Read more:
-
St Mirren ejected from SPFL Trust Trophy over 'unregistered player'
-
Rooney on making more Scottish football history at St Mirren
He said: “It was brilliant on Thursday. The atmosphere right from the warm-up was unreal.
“It was very enjoyable, and I hope we can have that for the next few weeks.
“It was probably the biggest occasion I’ve been involved in so far. The fans made it and I’m not surprised with it being the first time in Europe for nearly 40 years."
And could St Mirren progress even further in the competition? “That’s the thing. I think our aim is just to go out and win every game," said Smyth.
“I don’t think we look too far ahead, in terms of looking at the group stage. We want to win the next game and get through to the next stage.
“There’s never a ceiling in football. Things happen we don’t expect, so there’s no reason why we can’t go on and get to the group stage.
The St Mirren line up against Hibs will see a handful of changes from Stephen Robinson after his side's European exploits. But Smyth is under no illusions over the rotation necessary to keep standards high - especially after his limited minutes for Oxford United last season.
He explained: “We had the same at Oxford. We had a lot of players, so coming here was the same thing for me. I’ve come to St Mirren to try and get more minutes on the pitch.
“We have so many games, there’s no reason why we can get minutes for more players. We’ll be playing Thursday-Sunday for about three weeks, so there will be plenty of football.
“I think we understand there will be rotation. That’s why we have such a number of good players.
“You can’t take the huff if you’re left out because there will be a good player in your position.
“I think having that strength in depth is important."
Oisin Smyth has revealed his St Mirren move was not only inspired by discussions with Caolan Boyd-Munce but also to be reunited with Diarmuid O'Carroll.
The midfielder, 24, shared a dressing room with the St Mirren assistant manager when he was at Dungannon Swifts in 2018. And even then Smyth knew O'Carroll would go into coaching.
“I only knew the gaffer from back home, where he’s a well-known name but I hadn’t worked with him," said Smyth of his St Mirren connections. “I had worked with the assistant manager, Diarmuid O'Carroll, at Dungannon Swifts.
“When I worked with him, he was a player, but he had that experienced head on his shoulders.
"You could tell he was going to move into coaching with the way he carried himself around the dressing room and the way he spoke to the lads.
“I can see why he got the call-up to be with the national team. He’s a very good coach."
Smyth was easily convinced of a move to St Mirren by Boyd-Munce after struggling for consistent minutes at Oxford United last season.
The Northern Ireland youth internationalist played alongside Boyd-Munce in the international set-up where the pair were vying for the same position, not dissimilar to the situation at St Mirren.
“Growing up, Caolan probably kept me back because he was getting in ahead of me," said Smyth. "Then we were together at the Under-21s, where we got quite close.
“When I fell out of favour at Oxford, he was on to me saying how much he was enjoying it at St Mirren.
“The group of lads we have here is phenomenal. On and off the field, it’s a joy to be here. He was able to sell it me.
“He told me what to expect. A football dressing room can be difficult to get used to in the first few weeks, but here it was quite easy after the first few days."
