Mark O’Hara admits it was tough to see the club’s final chance of pushing for European football next year slip through St Mirren’s fingers.
But the determined midfielder is confident his Saints can return next season even stronger and force their way to an even higher Premiership finish.
The Buddies gave themselves a mountain to climb in their decisive clash with Aberdeen on Wednesday night, with Leighton Clarkson’s free-kick putting the Dons in control early on before youngster Thierry Small’s costly red card just half an hour into the match.
Despite ultimately missing out on the opportunity to catch Hibs and Hearts for a European spot, O’Hara believes it’s important to remember everything the squad have achieved across the entire campaign.
And the influential midfielder is already looking forward to next season and the chance to build on their top-six success.
O’Hara told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “We let ourselves down a bit in the first half and Aberdeen were well on top.
“We knew it was going to be a long second 45 but the young boys came on and showed they’re good enough at this level. That’s probably the only positive we can take from the game, their performance when they came on.”
“The timing of the red card was always going to make the rest of the game difficult. We were deflated, which was disappointing because we went there to get a result.
“I think we came off the pitch already knowing our fate was done. That was tough to take.
“It’s been fine lines and that’s probably the difference. That’s why we’re finishing sixth.
“But it has been the club’s most successful season for a long time.
“We’ll look back on that, but I fully believe this squad is capable of more and next season we’ll be striving to achieve that. We want to sustain it and improve next season. We’ve come very close against the teams in the top six and proved we’re good enough to match a lot of them.
“I think next season we want to improve again. We’ll be aiming for a top-five finish next year.”
While Small picked up his second red card in just four appearances, O’Hara was quick to absolve the 18-year-old of any serious blame.
He insisted the Southampton loanee didn’t intend to catch Bojan Miovski the way he did, which saw the Dons forward leaving the pitch on a stretcher.
O’Hara said: “He was upset in the dressing room. He’s young and he’ll learn from it.
“He’s disappointed but I’m sure he’ll bounce back. I was right next to the challenge and I thought it was a red straight away.
“It was sad to see Miovski struggling. I don’t think there was any intent to harm, he’s slipped and his foot went in.
“We’re hoping the injury isn’t too bad, but there was certainly no malice in it.”
Personally O’Hara has thrived in the black and white stripes this summer, with the midfielder almost certainly set to finish the campaign as the club’s top scorer and with a host of other prizes from the club’s end of season awards ceremony on Sunday night.
While some players might be moving on next month, O’Hara is confident manager Stephen Robinson and his staff will bring in even more exciting talents over the summer.
O’Hara added: “Personally, statistically and performance-wise it has definitely been my best season. I’ve loved playing for the manager, the club and the fans and hopefully I can improve again next season.
“The manager has got a lot of belief in me. The system suits me and it’s no surprise I enjoy working with him. He knows how to get the best out of me.
“I don’t know the future of quite a few boys. Some will be moving on. They’ve been great servants to the club.
“Some will be hard to replace, but the manager and staff have a track record of bringing in the right players.
“It’ll be exciting over the summer to see who we bring in.”
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