After a harrowing first half of the season St Mirren pulled off a great escape and finished in 7th place ahead of Dumbarton on goal difference. This was an incredible recovery from a team with only two wins in the opening 18 games mainly under the stewardship of Alex Rae. St Mirren were expected to be contesting the promotion play-offs, but instead they seemed like relegation certainties. By mid-October the St Mirren board had seen enough and brought in hot new managerial talent, and former player, Jack Ross.
With an unbalanced team low on confidence, Ross made a slow start. The experienced pros looked tired and that was affecting the confidence of St Mirren’s younger players. St Mirren only had 11 points at the midpoint of the season and were six adrift of Dunfermline in 9th place. As soon as winter transfer window opened Ross went to work and reshaped his team. The key signing was former St Mirren midfielder, Stephen McGinn, who returned from England. He provided drive and leadership that quickly restored the confidence of their talented young players and St Mirren never looked back. The second half of the season was a complete turnaround as St Mirren only lost four of their remaining 18 fixtures, including wins over Hibs, Dundee United and Morton. Yet, with being so far behind it took until the last two games of the season to secure their Championship status with a 1-1 draw at Easter Road allowing them to finish 7th. St Mirren fans are hoping they will carry their momentum into next season, although such has been the form of some of their young stars, they may move on to bigger clubs and more rebuilding is required from Jack Ross.
