Craig McLeish oversaw four victories in his 12 games as interim manager of St Mirren.
As the final whistle blew in Paisley on Monday, marking St Mirren’s survival, attention swiftly turned to the future of a club that has experienced both triumph and tribulation this season.
In December, the club secured a memorable League Cup victory over Celtic at Hampden, adding another accolade to Stephen Robinson’s tenure, which included three consecutive top-six finishes in the Scottish Premiership.
However, their consistent league form waned this season, despite the cup success.
The team found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle, and when Robinson departed for Aberdeen in March, former youth coach Craig McLeish stepped in as interim manager with a clear objective: survival.
St Mirren narrowly achieved this goal, with Marcus Fraser’s goal securing a 2-1 aggregate win against Partick Thistle in the Premiership play-off final, sealing their top-flight status with a 1-0 victory on Monday.
McLeish has openly expressed his desire to remain in the role and reiterated his ambition following the match.
“I imagine [chief operating officer] Keith [Lasley] will start to have conversations about that over the next few days,” McLeish told BBC Scotland when asked about his future.
“We spoke about taking care of everything and whatever the outcome is, the club will plan their future from there.
“I’m privileged that the club put trust in me to take the team on. If I get the opportunity to lead the group, my biggest thing is to make sure we’re never in that type of position again.
“I’ve felt I’m capable of doing the job and handling the full thing. I’ve felt that from day one. This is what I’ve always been building towards.
“I can’t control when I would get the opportunity. I just had to show I was ready to go and I hope I have shown people that.”
St Mirren defeat Partick Thistle in play-off to keep Premiership place
Podcast: Reaction as St Mirren secure their top-flight status
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Watch the goal that kept St Mirren in Premiership
The performance against Thistle was far from convincing, understandably given the stakes, and the relief among fans and players was palpable after the final whistle.
“We wanted to make sure the players were remembered as legends at this club after winning the League Cup,” McLeish stated.
“We didn’t want that black mark against our name.
“First half was nervy, cagey and full of mistakes. It wasn’t really tactical, just us controlling our emotions. We did that better in the second half.”
McLeish secured three wins in nine league games after Robinson’s departure, but it wasn’t enough to prevent St Mirren from entering the play-offs as Kilmarnock excelled after the split.
An initial change in approach led to improved performances, but results began to decline, with a run of four defeats without scoring proving costly.
The 36-year-old interim boss was unable to fully resolve the goalscoring issues that plagued their season.
However, key defender Alex Gogic believes McLeish could achieve more with additional time and would welcome his continued presence.
“Yeah, of course, whatever the club chooses,” Gogic said.
“If he has a pre-season, it will probably be better than what it is. If the club decide to go his way, we’ll all be behind that.”
Former Dundee United and Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall suggests McLeish has boosted his chances of securing the role permanently by guiding St Mirren to safety.
“I don’t think he had any chance of getting the job if St Mirren were relegated,” McCall commented.
“What he has done is conducted himself really well and given himself a real chance of the job.
“The power-that-be here took a real chance appointing a young lad like that. But he has come through it really well. He has talked really well.
“He came through one dodgy moment when Kilmarnock won here 3-0. But he’s come back from that really strongly.
“It didn’t just plummet when Craig McLeish took over. It was a bad run of results when Stephen Robinson was there after the cup final which brought this on. He certainly has a chance.”
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McLeish hopes play-off success can land St Mirren job
Neil: Lay off McLeish – he delivered what the board asked for.
Iain: Phew, Saints survive! Now let us find a good manager. Please not McLeish, who thinks he is so good.
Sean: If there’s ever been a match won by a team that didn’t deserve to, it was this. St Mirren need to change a lot of things at their club or they’re going to be facing automatic relegation next season.
Alan: Wow, don’t want to go through that again. First half was terrible again and felt one goal would probably decide it – luckily went our way. Massive clearout needed and a manager with experience as McLeish ain’t the answer.
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