What makes St Mirren tick?

[houstonhibbee]

From by far the worst team in the league to by far the best team and scoring barrowloads every week. Is it the manager or the players? or both?
Dont think they have changed the team much so is it all down to the manager? Are there players better than ours? If we were scoring as freely as St Mirren are we would be doing cartwheels........

[TRC]

they changed tons of players in January

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39385480

[monktonharp]

From by far the worst team in the league to by far the best team and scoring barrowloads every week. Is it the manager or the players? or both?
Dont think they have changed the team much so is it all down to the manager? Are there players better than ours? If we were scoring as freely as St Mirren are we would be doing cartwheels........No one really knows the answer to that. was it not the second game of the season, when we played Shinnie and big Graham as subs and they both scored at St. Mirren park? we skelped them that day ad mid term they nosedived.

[Centre Hawf]

From by far the worst team in the league to by far the best team and scoring barrowloads every week. Is it the manager or the players? or both?
Dont think they have changed the team much so is it all down to the manager? Are there players better than ours? If we were scoring as freely as St Mirren are we would be doing cartwheels........

They were never a bad side. But Jack Ross has clearly done something to fix their confidence and have been on the up for a while now. If they continue like this theres no reason they won't be in a promotion discussion next season. Also no their players are not better than ours.

[franck sauzee]

they changed tons of players in January

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39385480

This. I read that Stephen Mallan said bringing in Stephen McGinn had made a huge difference

[houstonhibbee]

so maybe it just needs a bit of tinkering to get us scoring freely? Holt/ Graham better than Sutton who scored tonight?

[MWHIBBIES]

From by far the worst team in the league to by far the best team and scoring barrowloads every week. Is it the manager or the players? or both?
Dont think they have changed the team much so is it all down to the manager? Are there players better than ours? If we were scoring as freely as St Mirren are we would be doing cartwheels........No, there players aren't better than ours. Our players have won the league over the season, theirs are 8th.

[houstonhibbee]

No, there players aren't better than ours. Our players have won the league over the season, theirs are 8th.
theres more to a game than just the players though and you have to give the manager a lot of credit for the turnaround

[greenlex]

Skipper McGinn. Inspired appointment by JR. wouldn't be upset to see both at ER in the future.

[GlesgaeHibby]

Skipper McGinn. Inspired appointment by JR. wouldn't be upset to see both at ER in the future.

I think Jack Ross is one to watch. Did well at Alloa, has totally turned St Mirren around. If Lennon went at the end of the season we could do a lot worse IMO.

[Ringothedog]

theres more to a game than just the players though and you have to give the manager a lot of credit for the turnaround

Since the start of the year they have won 3 points more than us, good form but hardly Great. They have looked good but then again they couldn't have been any worse than the first half of the season.

[ALF TUPPER]

Their mental attitude has changed since Brendan Rogers told them they were the best team Celtic had played this season.
They believe it.

🤔

[Marco G]

From by far the worst team in the league to by far the best team and scoring barrowloads every week. Is it the manager or the players? or both?
Dont think they have changed the team much so is it all down to the manager? Are there players better than ours? If we were scoring as freely as St Mirren are we would be doing cartwheels........
In fact Jack Ross had a huge clear out during the winter window and signed a lot of new players. He says it took a while for them to gel but now they look pretty good. Hopefully good enough to do Falkirk on Saturday! [emoji3]

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[Keith_M]

I've read on here a lot recently that Cappielow is a hard place to go and how a draw is a respectable result, yet St Mirren just went there and thumped them 4-1.


Make you wonder what it is that they're doing differently.

[GreenCastle]

The recent midweek game in Paisley while I felt Hibs should have scored a few in 2nd half..Boyle sitter etc.

I felt St Mirren were the best team Hibs have played this season and could have had more themselves. They attacked with purpose, speed and looked organised.

Hibs looked tired that night and with a new defence and Holt on bench didn't click.

Looks like they may stay up - hopefully last game of the season they aren't needing a win to do so as could easily see them beating us at ER if we have switched off.

Could easily be promotion contenders next season also if they add in summer.

[GreenArmyyy!]

The recent midweek game in Paisley while I felt Hibs should have scored a few in 2nd half..Boyle sitter etc.

I felt St Mirren were the best team Hibs have played this season and could have had more themselves. They attacked with purpose, speed and looked organised.

Hibs looked tired that night and with a new defence and Holt on bench didn't click.

Looks like they may stay up - hopefully last game of the season they aren't needing a win to do so as could easily see them beating us at ER if we have switched off.

Could easily be promotion contenders next season also if they add in summer.

Don't agree I'm afraid, I think consistently and especially the games at Easter Road, Dunfermline have been by far the best side we've played in the league this season.

[GreenCastle]

Don't agree I'm afraid, I think consistently and especially the games at Easter Road, Dunfermline have been by far the best side we've played in the league this season.

I agree Dunfermline over all the games this season.

St Mirren at Paisley away we were torn apart. The first Paisley away game was the worst team I've seen us play hence why they were bottom and changed manager.

Don't forgot Brondby also :)

[Brightside]

I have a friend who is a St Mirren fan. He said Morton didn't like players in their faces and attacking at them. Certainly makes you think!

[Alex Trager]

They are playing with a purpose for a start.

They should be challenging for at least a play off spot and were atrocious at the start of the season leaving themselves almost a very to go down.

They have bucked up and are fighting for their lives.

You see it with so many teams who are stranded then come out of nowhere.

Like Crystal Palace this season.

There are other teams that look like they are just drifting toward relegation without a care in the world.

Like we did.

[frazeHFC]

Skipper McGinn. Inspired appointment by JR. wouldn't be upset to see both at ER in the future.

St Mirren fans on Twitter saying this was the turning point for them this season. Would like to see us go for him and/or Mallan.

[Hiber-nation]

From worst team in the league to probably best. Just shows what you can do with the right man in the job, Jack Ross's managerial record is outstanding so far.

I was wondering why they were bottom earlier in the season considering some of the talent they had. Alex Rae being manager must be the answer.

[JDHibs]

Intelligent signings by JR in January has saved their season!

McGinn is a good midfielder with good experience and a great leader. Mallan gets more freedom now so can show what he can do.

Young keeper OBrien looks a decent prospect, better than langfield anyway! The cypriot left back looked very good against us, scored a few goals aswell.

Loy knows and has scored goals in this league before and Cammy smith is another good prospect!

Hes made them better at the back and brought in good attackers! Mallan has 5 goals ands 11 assists this season, please Hibs, sign him.

[BegbieHSC]

I'm just imagining the scenario: we win the league this weekend, and then on the last game of the season, St Mirren pump us at home, and then we celebrate with the trophy at full time. Could be a very strange end, to a very strange few years for Hibs.

[LaMotta]

I think Jack Ross is one to watch. Did well at Alloa, has totally turned St Mirren around. If Lennon went at the end of the season we could do a lot worse IMO.

Glad Jack Ross got binned from Hearts as youth coach. If he hadnt incurred the wrath of Levein he may well have been in Cathro's shoes right now.

[Springbank]

I have a friend who is a St Mirren fan. He said Morton didn't like players in their faces and attacking at them. Certainly makes you think!

This is what the likes of Jason Cummings needs to grasp in order to progress (to full national team status and even more regular trophies etc). We’ve got decent players, but they raise their workrate 50% for cup games against teams from the premier. We give opposition centre halves and full backs an easy shift.

It’s been enormous fun in the cups, and I hope they do it against Aberdeen in the semi and Rangers in the final 😉 but we haven’t steamrolled the league because we work less hard against the “usual teams” and raise our game massively in the big games. Hey ho, no complaints this season (so far) and here’s hoping the raising of our game in the semi takes us all the way to another Hampden final and victory!!!!

[snooky]

The recent midweek game in Paisley while I felt Hibs should have scored a few in 2nd half..Boyle sitter etc.

I felt St Mirren were the best team Hibs have played this season and could have had more themselves. They attacked with purpose, speed and looked organised.

Hibs looked tired that night and with a new defence and Holt on bench didn't click.

Looks like they may stay up - hopefully last game of the season they aren't needing a win to do so as could easily see them beating us at ER if we have switched off.

Could easily be promotion contenders next season also if they add in summer.

We've been screaming out this for years and we are still slow and lethargic getting from back to front.

[Bristolhibby]

I'm just imagining the scenario: we win the league this weekend, and then on the last game of the season, St Mirren pump us at home, and then we celebrate with the trophy at full time. Could be a very strange end, to a very strange few years for Hibs.

Bit like when we qualified for Europe in 2005 and the Huns won the League at the same time. A 0-1 defeat to the Huns suited both teams.

Also two pitch invasions that day!

J

[Big L]

St Mirren fans on Twitter saying this was the turning point for them this season. Would like to see us go for him and/or Mallan.

Totally agree! If Lennon does leave for the Eng Championship, Jack Ross would be a great replacement IMO. He did well at Alloa and he's done great at St Mirren. Brendan Rodgers was waxing lyrical after they played them. I think he could be just the guy for us.

[Stevie Reid]

I've read on here a lot recently that Cappielow is a hard place to go and how a draw is a respectable result, yet St Mirren just went there and thumped them 4-1.


Make you wonder what it is that they're doing differently.

I think last night was Morton's second home defeat in a year, so what you'd read wasn't wrong. Morton thumped us 3-0 at ER last season, doesn't mean that it was easy to get an away win against us last season.

St. Mirren and Jack Ross deserve much credit, but there's big a difference between a team in form and one who is comfortably meeting its objective. I think Saints will stay up, but they play the top three and their closest play off rivals in their last four games, so they have much work to do.

[jgl07]

Since the start of the year they have won 3 points more than us, good form but hardly Great. They have looked good but then again they couldn't have been any worse than the first half of the season.
Yes but they have won five, drawn two and lost one of their last eight matches.

In their previous 24 matches they won three!

[IWasThere2016]

Skipper McGinn. Inspired appointment by JR. wouldn't be upset to see both at ER in the future.

This. Ross has something...

[Stevie Reid]

I think Jack Ross is one to watch. Did well at Alloa, has totally turned St Mirren around. If Lennon went at the end of the season we could do a lot worse IMO.


This. Ross has something...


I think Jack Ross looks a real prospect at the moment, but any talk of him being a potential Hibs manager at the moment is extremely premature in my opinion, for so many reasons.

For a start, he has only been a manager for 18 months, and only been a full time manager since last October - also, he hasn't actually achieved anything yet. Alloa were three points adrift at the bottom of the Championship when he took over, they ended up ten points below Livingston. No shame in being relegated with Alloa obviously, but certainly no signs of him being a miracle worker there.

He obviously had a great start to the season with Alloa, and has subsequently been appointed Saints manager. Saints were bottom of the table by two points when he took over back in October, and had only played 8 games at that point, so it's fair to say that they got a lot worse before they got better. They are on a great run now, but they still have a load of work to do to stay up. If their recent wins had been spread out over the whole period of his time there, instead of this recent burst of form, I highly doubt anyone would be touting him as a potential Hibs manager. Dumbarton are part time and have gathered one point less than St. Mirren since Jack Ross was appointed - I can't imagine anyone would be clamouring for Stevie Aitken to be our next boss.

In real terms, even if he keeps Saints up, he won't have achieved as much as say Ian Murray, who got Dumbarton to a very high finish in the league despite them being part-time. We know how his time at St. Mirren went. There have also been plenty of managers who have made a name for themselves in the lower leagues, who have achieved more than Ross, who have gone on to fail at bigger clubs. I remember being envious when Dundee Utd appointed Ian McCall when he was at Falkirk, he was given money to spend after Eddie Thomson's take over, and brought in the likes of Colin Samuel, Barry Robson. He was rubbish for them.

All seems very reactionary to me. Speaking of which, we have many people on this board who would happily see the back of a manager who has managed the biggest club in the country to league titles (I know the odds were stacked in his favour in that regard) and in the Champions League - despite the fact that he is on the verge of completing his remit in mid April. If a track record like his doesn't buy Lennon time and patience with some sections of our support, how much of a grace period do you think someone like Jack Ross would get if he were to get off to a bad start?

Any managerial appointment is a risk obviously, and there are no guarantees. But if there were to be a vacancy available at Hibs in the near future, I would not want Jack Ross to be one of the candidates based on his record so far. Wouldn't be surprised to see him make it as a manager though.

[JDHibs]

I think Jack Ross looks a real prospect at the moment, but any talk of him being a potential Hibs manager at the moment is extremely premature in my opinion, for so many reasons.

For a start, he has only been a manager for 18 months, and only been a full time manager since last October - also, he hasn't actually achieved anything yet. Alloa were three points adrift at the bottom of the Championship when he took over, they ended up ten points below Livingston. No shame in being relegated with Alloa obviously, but certainly no signs of him being a miracle worker there.

Stubbs had never been a manager full stop, before he joined us, never mind achieving anything.

Something to think about...

[Stevie Reid]

Stubbs had never been a manager full stop, before he joined us, never mind achieving anything.

Something to think about...

I've already stated that any appointment is a risk, and your point is valid - Tony Mowbray had a similar background too. To be fair to Stubbs, he was a youth coach for six years at a big Premiership club, and was even interviewed for the manager's job prior to Martinez's appointment.

It's well within the bounds of possibility that Jack Ross could come in and be a great manager at Hibs. But I would not want him to be a main contender based on his very limited managerial experience so far. Yes he's highly regarded as a coach also, but we are witnessing at Tynecastle right now that that doesn't always follow into being a good manager.

[Diclonius]

If Lennon goes, I wouldn't be disappointed if we replaced him with Ross and signed Stephen McGinn/Mallan.

[scooby]

If Lennon goes, I wouldn't be disappointed if we replaced him with Ross and signed Stephen McGinn/Mallan.

Lots of chat on here about Lennon leaving, can't see it myself.

[JDHibs]

Would also like to add to what i said, just looked up Mallans stats for the season -

43 games
9 goals
17 assists!!

Considering they were garbage for 6 months, they are very impressive stats for an attacking mid and everything we are missing from midfield, top assister at Hibs is Shinnie with 9, top scorer from midfield is McGinn with 5 or 6.

[Stevie Reid]

Lots of chat on here about Lennon leaving, can't see it myself.

Me neither, and I very much hope it doesn't happen.

[inglisavhibs]

From worst team in the league to probably best. Just shows what you can do with the right man in the job, Jack Ross's managerial record is outstanding so far.

I was wondering why they were bottom earlier in the season considering some of the talent they had. Alex Rae being manager must be the answer.

Jack Ross actually had a bad start at St Mirren before the current good run they are on. Like others I think Ross has the potential to be a very good manager and one we should keep our eye on. As regards the league Raith, QOS, Dundee United, Morton, Falkirk and now St Mirren have all had good runs during the season but the table doesn't lie and we are nine points clear at the moment for good reason.