Helen McLeod believes the “sky is the limit” for St Mirren Women after hitting new heights against Giffnock SC Women.
The Buddies thumped an incredible 10 unanswered goals past their East Renfrewshire rivals to leap up to joint-third in the SWF League One table. Striker Kelly Ross bagged an impressive four, while Ceara MacIntyre notched a hat-trick. Jo Morrison, Jen Caldwell and McLeod completed the emphatic rout.
After a disappointing campaign last time out, experienced midfielder McLeod insists there’s no reason the Paisley side can’t dare to dream about earning promotion this season.
Having moved up the divisions with previous clubs Kilwinning and Queen’s Park, she feels the Saints now have the right blend of maturity and youth to maintain a sustained push at the top end of the league.
McLeod told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was a really great game against Giffnock. We’ve struggled in front of goal recently but everything came together in that match.
“It was also great to build on the clean sheet we had the week before. It’s always nice to keep your opponents out altogether.
“We’ve felt like a big result like that has been coming and there’s absolutely nothing stopping us from aiming high this season.
“There is much more experience throughout the squad this season.
“A few older players have come in and helped us focus more on the pitch.
“The youngsters are still doing well too and you need to get that mix and balance right. I think we have now and the sky is the limit now for this squad.”
McLeod joined St Mirren from Queen’s Park at the tail end of last season and has become a key figure for the Paisley club.
She is enjoying imparting her experience to the club’s younger players, a role she hopes to carry on throughout the campaign.
McLeod said: “I am definitely one of the older players in the squad and I really enjoy helping the younger players through games.
“They might think I’m a big of a nag at times, which is maybe true! But sometimes you need someone driving you on and to be the bad cop.
“I’ve got a lot of experience from playing all over the leagues.
“With Kilwinning I was part of the team that went up several divisions.
“I also got promoted with Queen’s Park and hopefully I can pass on some of that experience to the squad here.”
This weekend the Buddies face Stenhousemuir, a side nipping at their heels in the League One table.
McLeod hopes St Mirren can put some daylight between themselves and the chasing pack, while also revealing head coach Kate Cooper is the perfect person to drive the team forward.
McLeod added: “It’ll be a very tough game against Stenhousemuir.
“We’ve played them in friendlies recently and they were very tight games.
“They’re only a couple of points behind us in the table and it would be good to put a bit of distance between us and the chasing pack in the middle of the table.
“I’ve never worked with a manager who is so determined and motivated to succeed.
“That can only be a good thing for us because she is helping us progress in every possible way she can.”
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