Craig McLeish wants St Mirren to become “really good at the basics” after making it two wins out of two to start their league campaign.
Killian Phillips converted a 73rd-minute penalty to secure a 1-0 victory over newly promoted St Johnstone, sending the Saints to the summit of the Scottish Premiership.
Following the hard-fought win, McLeish emphasised his desire to “keep building” on their impressive early momentum.
“Delighted for the group, a really good, hard-fought win. A lot of our performance was good; we just had to add a bit more intensity to our performance in the first half.
The victory came down to two penalty kicks, and after Jacob Chapman foiled Jamie Gullan from 12 yards, Phillips showed composure to convert past Toby Steward to the delight of the home faithful.
“We were quite comfortable without troubling them too much. We stepped it up a bit in the second half. We got away with one when Jacob made a fantastic save for the penalty.
“Then we converted our own penalty, so it was fine margins. Games are going to be like that for us, and we have to show that fight and resilience. Our energy and how we pressed at the end, we could have scored a couple on the counter; that was really pleasing.
“We have to be horrible to play against. Two clean sheets set us up well for that. The attacking bit, a few bits didn’t quite click in the final third to create real, clear-cut opportunities. When we counterattack, we do it at speed, and we look dangerous.
Replacing the experienced Stephen Robinson with a youthful coach carrying limited top-flight experience was widely viewed as a bold gamble by St Mirren.
Yet, after successfully navigating the relegation playoffs last season, McLeish is now stamping his identity on the Saints.
While they are playing a more attractive brand of football, the team’s core identity remains unchanged – to outwork your opponent.
“Those are standards that we set from day one of pre-season. How quickly do we get back into shape, everyone doing it and joining in. We want to be really good at the basics and not get bored of that.
“The running, energy and desire. We want to be fit and strong and relentless this season against whoever we play. We have to keep those standards really high. We did it last week and lived up to it again today.
“It helps with the belief in each other. I’ve said to the boys I have confidence in them. Last season, we had two horrendous play-off games – even the emotion about it, there were so many nerves when we stepped on the pitch.
“I’m still using that as fuel; I don’t want to be involved in that. We’ve got a massive journey ahead of us, and we have to keep building. Six points out of six is a great start.”
That prolific start will instil massive belief across the entire club, from players and staff to the boardroom and supporters, as they head to Ibrox next Sunday for their toughest test yet in the League Cup last 16.