Saints chief John Needham believes the Paisley club’s success on the pitch has allowed them to plan for the future more than ever.
And the chairman revealed talks are in the post with boss Stephen Robinson about extending his stay with the Buddies after steering them well away from the relegation zone.
St Mirren are in a strong position this season – focusing on the battle for the top-six instead of a dogfight at the bottom.
Needham insists this has allowed Saints to make longer term plans earlier, including getting the likes of key players Mark O’Hara and Trevor Carson signed up on extended deals.
Midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce has also been brought in early to bed in ahead of the next season – and with talks soon to take place with gaffer Robinson about his future, Needham is confident the stability at the SMiSA Stadium can see them challenge at the top of the table more consistently.
Speaking exclusively to the Paisley Daily Express, Needham said: “I’m confident Stephen and the boys will get a top-six finish over the line. The squad we have is much stronger than in previous years and the consequence of us challenging for the top-six now is we can start planning for next season.
“We’ve brought Caolan in already who comes with a strong pedigree. We’re optimistic he’ll do well and we’ll exercise the option to keep him.
"Hopefully the fans can see that we’re still ambitious. They’ve shown faith in us and by extending key players contracts and picking Caolan up, hopefully they can see we’re building for the future.
“Agreeing the budget for next season already allows Stephen to be proactive and to enhance the squad. We’ve made good progress but we’re not done yet. The stability will hopefully allow us to challenge at the higher end of the table more consistently.
“Stephen has done a good job and we’ve been highly impressed. We need to look in terms of extending his contract.
“Discussions are planned and it’s in our minds. We’ve still got some important games to come, so the focus will be on that initially.”
St Mirren face a crucial home clash with Livingston on Saturday, one of their main rivals for a top-half spot.
The Buddies home form has been formidable this season, with Needham hoping another bumper crowd will pack out the SMiSA to help push the hosts on to a potentially pivotal three points.
Needham said: “If we can win against Livingston that will put us in a very strong position. The other teams chasing it have some very difficult games coming up.
“The backing we’ve had so far has been fantastic. Especially at home, the crowds have been bigger and noisier than ever.
“The positivity around the place has been phenomenal and we’ve had several games with over 7,000 fans in. That’s a huge improvement on recent years.
“That’s credit to the players and to Robinson and hopefully there’ll be another big crowd to give the players a lift when we take on Livingston.”
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