John Needham says it’s a huge relief to see his Buddies finally get off to a rapid start in the Premiership.
St Mirren have traditionally been slow starters in the top flight in recent years, leaving them too much of a hill to climb to break into the top six.
This season Stephen Robinson ’s side have raced out of the traps, picking up four wins in their last five games to jump up to fourth in the table.
Despite the campaign being in its infancy, club chairman Needham admits it’s far more enjoyable to be looking down on the majority of the rest of the Premiership clubs this time around.
But he’s not taking anything for granted as the Buddies look to push on and keep their impressive form going against Livingston on Saturday.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Needham said: “Stephen (Robinson) has got the team playing to a consistent pattern and there’s great strength on the bench as well. When we need to make substitutions, we’re bringing on experienced players and internationals.
“That’s a step up for the club from recent seasons. It took time to settle the new players in. The League Cup was a disappointment but the league form is very promising so far. We should have won the first game against Motherwell too, so the picture could have been even better at this stage.
“I know not to take anything for granted in football, but we’re very encouraged by the overall start to the season. It’s great to not already be under pressure at this point. St Mirren are notoriously slow starters.
"It’s a much nicer feeling to be sitting where we are and now the challenge is to keep it going. Our focus is all on the Livi game, which will have a bit of spice given it’s fourth vs fifth in the table.”
As well as impressing with an early streak of wins in the league, St Mirren also currently have more international players in their squad than they’ve enjoyed in recent times. The Saints boss feels this will benefit the club in the long run, especially as they look to persuade some of their best young talent to stick around in Paisley.
Needham said: “Having so many internationals certainly does raise the profile of the club. I can’t remember us ever having so many full internationals in the squad.
“We’ve also got some youngsters in the youth sections of Scotland in Dylan Reid and Keiran Offord. That’s tremendous and bodes well for the future.
“Hopefully it can be an inspiration to some of our young academy guys. It shows them that they don’t have to move away to a bigger club to get international recognition.
“The Saints fans will definitely be taking more of an interest in this international break because of the likes of Keanu (Baccas) and Ryan (Strain) being involved with Australia.
“I think the last players to feature at a major tournament while still a St Mirren player would be the likes of Peter Weir and Billy Thompson.”
READ MORE:
