It has been an excellent start to the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership season for St Mirren. Stephen Robinson’s side has won five of their opening nine matches, which has put them in a European position at this early stage of the campaign.
Here is a look at what has been behind St Mirren’s strong start to the season and what their prospects could be this year.
Jonah Ayunga: The Pick of Strong Recruits
The #Shrimps can confirm that the Club and Jonah Ayunga have mutually agreed to cancel the forward’s contract, freeing him up to join cinch Premiership side St. Mirren.#UTS 🦐
— Morecambe FC (@ShrimpsOfficial) June 1, 2022
Very few St Mirren fans knew much about Jonah Ayunga when the club signed him on a free transfer from Morecambe back in the summer. Manager Robinson worked with the player when he oversaw the League One club, and we are seeing exactly why he was so keen to bring the winger to Scotland.
Ayunga is not just a winger who has speed and skill, he also has an eye for goal. He has scored six goals in all competitions during his opening 12 games for the club. Although St Mirren remains as big as 500/1 in the online betting for the Scottish Premiership title, the 25-year-old has given fans a lot of hope about the prospects of their best finish in the top flight.
As sports bet tips may note, Robinson was able to recruit well during the summer transfer window and the players he has brought in have made an immediate impact on the pitch.
Confidence is Sky High
The Buddies lost their opening two games of the 2022/23 season, but they responded well to those defeats, winning five of their next six. That run of wins has been produced as the players have been full of confidence on the pitch.
🧱 6⃣ clean sheets in our last 8⃣ cinch Premiership matches.
2⃣ clean sheets in 2⃣ for @trevorcarson24.
Solid. #OurStMirren #COYS pic.twitter.com/eQrKYFBFKy
— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) August 25, 2022
The Buddies kept clean sheets in victories over Ross County, Dundee United, and Hibernian. Trevor Carson was in great form in those games and refused to be beaten. A 3-0 defeat to St Johnstone ended their run of victories, but Robinson’s players bounced back in the best possible way, beating champions Celtic 2-0 at St Mirren Park.
In those opening nine matches, St Mirren is yet to draw a game. They kept that run without a stalemate going when they scored in the 90th minute in a 2-1 win over Livingston in their eighth game of the campaign.
European Football Now Has to Be the Aim
It has been 35 years since St Mirren last played European football. The Buddies featured in the 1987-88 European Cup Winners’ Cup, where they lost in the second round of that competition to Belgian side KV Mechelen.
To guarantee European football next season, St Mirren will need to finish fourth at the end of the campaign. The top two teams qualify for the Champions League, the third-placed team features in the Europa League, while the club that lands the fourth spot, goes into the Europa Conference League.
With Celtic and Rangers likely to occupy the top two spaces, Robinson will be aiming for third or fourth place in the table. If he can lead his team to one of those spaces, it would be a great achievement for the club.
There is a lot of football still to be played this season in Scottish Premiership and domestic cup competitions, but St Mirren fans will be delighted with the start their team have managed to achieve.