Stephen Robinson believes a hybrid approach of promoting youth talents and bringing in unknown quantities can help St Mirren produce the perfect blend on the park.
The Saints manager used the double-edged plan to great effect at former club Motherwell.
As well as bringing through the likes of academy prospects David Turnbull, Allan Campbell and Jake Hastie, who all went on to net the Steelmen significant transfer fees, Robinson also picked up players that had until that point flown under the radar.
Defender Cedric Kipre was a gamble after his release from Leicester City that paid off handsomely, while striker Louis Moult also brought big money in to Fir Park.
It’s a model that Robinson feels can pay off again in Paisley as he continues to lay long-term foundations at the SMiSA Stadium.
He told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “Sometimes in football it’s hard to speak about the long term, but there has to be a realisation of who we are as a football club and of where we are and what we’re trying to achieve.
“We want to be a club which brings players through the academy. We’ve stripped that down to the bare bones and now we need to rebuild it because that’s our life blood.
“We’re out on the training pitch every Wednesday with the 17 and 18-year-olds.
“My assistant, Diarmuid O’Carroll, has been fantastic with them and the rest of the staff love that side of it as well.
“I’ve also previously brought in players from lower leagues and sold them for big money, which is then regenerated back into the football club and this is the model that our chief executive, Keith Lasley, sees as the way forward.
“That’s because he saw how well it worked when we were both at Motherwell. We brought in a lot of money using that model, bringing in players on £600 and £700 a week from nowhere levels and then trying to build them up to be a big success for you. They can then also become the next player you sell.”
Robinson is asking St Mirren supporters to be patient with new arrivals, with the likes of Toyosi Olusanya ready to return to the fold and try to make an impact after joining in the summer after his release from Middlesbrough.
Injury has hampered his cause, but Robinson believes the winger will be another strong asset once he gets acclimatised to Scottish top-flight football.
He added: “There will always be blips, of course, and supporters have to understand that when you put these players in the team there will be a development period for them.
“In an ideal world, every manager wants to improve his squad in every transfer window, but that’s not the reality.
“You can’t do that all the time and we have to accept that. It’s something we have to embrace and be patient with.
“Toyosi is definitely getting closer. I wouldn’t say he’s ready to start, but he’s certainly getting closer to getting involved off the bench.”
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