Stephen Robinson is proud of his players and staff for uniting St Mirren and Paisley so strongly this season.
And the Saints boss is determined to see the club get their “just rewards” for a superb campaign when their top-six tilt goes down to the wire this afternoon.
A draw or win against Kilmarnock at the SMiSA Stadium today will see the Buddies finish in the top half of the top flight for the first time in almost four decades.
St Mirren fans have backed the club with huge attendances over the course of the campaign, with the home ends selling out for the visit of Killie way back on Monday morning.
And Robinson believes the Saints support have bought into the squad as a whole because of the passion and pride they show every time they step on the pitch donning the black and white stripes.
He told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It gives me a pride in the players. They have been fantastic and I can’t praise the staff highly enough. There’s only four staff here and they work their socks off.
“The team and the town are together. We’ve had very close to full houses almost every week and it seems the fans have bought into what the players are doing.
“I always say that when you play for the badge and not the name on the back of the shirt, people can see that.
“They are playing for the team and the town and the fans. Then you get your just rewards.
“Hopefully we can take that over the line against Kilmarnock.”
While there’s bound to understandably be some nervous energy in the bumper crowd in Paisley this afternoon, Robinson insists there isn’t a hint of panic inside the St Mirren dressing room.
With Kilmarnock the visitors, who have picked up just two points on the road all season, the Saints boss is adamant his troops will be going into battle to win to ensure they don’t need to rely on results involving Hibs and Livingston going their way.
Robinson said: “There’s no panic or over-egging what it is. We’re just getting on with our jobs and we don’t need to change anything.
“We train and play with intensity and that’s what we’ll set out to do again. We’ve put ourselves in a position where our fate is in our own hands. We’d have taken that at the start of the season and are quite relaxed about it.
“We are going out to win the game without worrying about anything else that’s happening.
“We’ll set out to win, not draw, as we do in every single game we play. We’ll have to play to the best of our ability against a team that will be very organised by Derek McInnes.
“There has been a steely determination that I’ve felt since coming back from the Livingston and Hearts games.
“We’ve been in control of everything we’ve done this season. When we’ve made mistakes, we’ve rectified them.
“If we do the same again, we won’t need to be worried about anybody else.”
St Mirren received a huge boost ahead of today’s pivotal clash after a trio of midfielders were passed fit to play.
Keanu Baccus had been playing through the pain barrier with a knock he picked up while on international duty with Australia last month.
Having missed the trip to Ibrox to face Rangers last weekend, Robinson feared he’d be without Baccus again for this afternoon’s crunch match.
There were also lingering doubts over Alex Gogic and Greg Kiltie, who were both forced off early in Glasgow with injuries.
But the three significant players have all recovered in time for today’s visit of Killie, with Robinson paying tribute to club physio Gerry Docherty for getting them match ready in the nick of time.
He added: “The squad looks very good. Gerry’s worked wonders with the boys who had knocks at Ibrox.
“Gogic and Kiltie came off injured but they will be available. Keanu missed the game against Rangers altogether but he will be available too.
“There’s a tough team selection ahead for me – but that’s a good problem to have."
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