By Ethan Barlow

St Mirren have been tipped to hand Stephen Robinson a contract extension until 2027, despite the club picking up just one win from their last 10 matches.

The former Motherwell boss led the Buddies to their best Premiership season in almost 40 years, last season finishing in fifth spot.

This season European football has proven detrimental to the campaign, after a promising start with an emphatic early season victory over Icelandic Europa Conference League opponents, Valur.

They currently find themselves in eighth with eight points from their first nine league outings but after being eliminated from European competition by Norwegian outfit Brann, and the Premier Sports Cup by Dundee United, their hope for league form improvement has yet to be realised.

However Robinson has earned a lot of credit in the bank amongst the St Mirren support.

Saints’ fan, Euan Smith strongly believes the Northern Irishman can take the club forward: “Robinson’s the guy to get us places like he did last season. I think he’s the guy to get us back on track for this season. A new contract is a massive boost for the club.”

A Northern Ireland international as a player, Robinson has spent most of his managerial career in Scotland. Three successful seasons as Motherwell manager included, two 2017/18 cup final appearances and a third place finish in 2020. An unsuccessful nine months at Morecambe at the end of 2021 left Robinson heading back North of the border, joining the Buddies in February 2022.

Smith believes his club are lucky to have Robinson in charge: “He’s the best manager we’ve had in years, keeping him tied down until 2027 would be a bonus.”

Both St Mirren and Rangers suffered disappointing defeats at the weekend and with the two clashing at Ibrox on Sunday, Smith is quietly confident his team can pull off a result: “I don’t see why we can’t, maybe we can get a draw”

A result at Ibrox and locking Robinson in for the next three years would be a great week for the Buddies.