Stephen Robinson insists Dylan Reid has backed himself by rejecting Celtic and choosing football over finances to remain at St Mirren.
The Paisley club had accepted a £125,000 offer from the Hoops for the Scotland U17 captain but Reid this week knocked back the Parkhead giants and committed to his boyhood Buddies. Saints boss Robinson reckons the 17-year-old midfielder could have been quids in had he made the switch to the east end of Glasgow where Ange Postecoglou admitted he was earmarked for the club’s B team.
But Robinson is adamant Reid, who has five top team appearances under his belt, is in the best place possible to grow into a proper first team player before moving on much like David Turnbull did under his guidance at Motherwell. He said: “I don’t know the finances but I’m sure it would have been a lot more rewarding than at St Mirren. Credit to Dylan he has backed himself because he believes he will break into the first team here.
“If he does he will be an asset to ourselves and if he does leave he will go as a first team player as proposed to a B player or under 23 player. It wasn’t a surprise to me. His mum and advisors have their heads screwed on and know what they are doing. If you look at St Mirren and myself as a manager then I play young players if they are ready.
“That’s up to Dylan to be ready. Look at Ethan Erhahon he is 21 and played over 100 games. We have Jay Henderson and Kieran Offord involved. It’s a good statement from him. It doesn’t guarantee him first team football - that’s up to Dylan.
“If you go to some of the bigger clubs they are under a lot more pressure instantly and you maybe don’t get any chance to develop. Players need a platform to play and if you are training with the first team every day then you get that opportunity to impress. And I don’t think he will get that at the bigger clubs at this stage.
“If you look at David Turnbull he played a season for Motherwell and established himself as a top, top footballer and went as a first team player with Celtic. Other boys hadn’t done that, gone to England and fallen away. It will eat you up if you are not established, or strong enough mentally.
“Home comforts are a thing as well. Dylan is a sensible boy. There’s no guarantees he will play but if he pushes on the way we think he could then he will have an opportunity.”
The Buddies are reeling from their Premier Sports Cup group stage elimination following Tuesday’s group stage defeat to Airdrie. But Robinson is already turning his attention to the Premiership opener with Motherwell in eight days’ time - by fielding a strong team in this afternoon’s dead rubber clash with Edinburgh in Paisley.
Keanu Baccus will be handed a debut after finally completing his move from Western Sydney Wanderers and Eamonn Brophy will return. But Trevor Carson will be rested until the Well clash after getting the all-clear from his knee scan.
Robinson said: “It will be good for everybody, including the fans to see Keanu. We have to have a bit of patience with him because he’s been training with a youth team and hasn’t done loads over the last two weeks when he was sorting his visa out.
“It’ll be good to get him on the pitch and the same with Brophy. We are a squad who can’t afford to do without players like Brophy, Curtin Main, Baccus, Scott Tanser.
“It’s a case of getting as many first team boys in our strongest line-up and being hard to break down and physical. And not being frightened to play forward. It’s become a culture in football now where you can’t play forward, you have to pass it around and around.
“But you have to go play forward, pass into people’s feet and turn teams around. That’s what we aim to do. We spoke after the Airdrie game and we’re honest in our appraisals as a group of boys.
“It’s now time to get down to business and make sure we’re ready to go for the season. We have a squad going forward and unless someone leaves - and players like Ethan Erhahon scare the life out of me if he keeps playing the way he is playing - I’m happy with it.”
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