Saints go marching on in fine formation to survive

Jul 8 2007 ROB MACLEAN

ST MIRREN have that winning feeling already and that's not bad for a team that went nearly four months last season without a league victory.

On their long-awaited return to the SPL the new kids on the block were first to admit that they couldn't compete financially with their Top 12 rivals.

But after narrowly avoiding a return trip to the First Division, the Buddies are cashing in on the benefits of another season of top-flight football and proving that's where they plan to stay.

Saints have issued a bold statement of intent with their signing of former Inverness and Kilmarnock striker Craig Dargo - and they had to beat off a lot of competition to get him on board.

Winning that battle wasn't just about coming up with a big enough financial package.

It was also about persuading out-of-contract Dargo that he wasn't stepping backwards into a relegation struggle in the season ahead.

In his two years at Caley Thistle, Dargo had no worries about the SPL drop zone, helped considerably by his own scoring contribution of 31 goals.

His record at Inverness is strikingly similar to what the departed John Sutton has done for St Mirren over the last couple of seasons.

Manager Gus MacPherson would love to have teamed them up this season but he knew long before Sutton signed for Paul Lambert's Wycombe Wanderers that he'd be losing his top scorer.

All that talk about Chris' kid brother wanting a longer deal than the one-year contract on the table at Love Street was a less-than-subtle smokescreen.

Saints offered him the two-year extension he was looking for and the truth is he was moving on anyway.

Sutton gave value for money. His goals were vital in Saints' promotion year and he played a major role in the great escape last season, with his double at Motherwell on the penultimate weekend right out of the top drawer.

The team will miss his physical presence up front, a threat to the best of defences, although they shouldn't be short of goals with diminutive Dargo (below) around.

Further proof of St Mirren's growing reputation is the acquisition of midfielder Gary Mason after his six-and-a-half years at Dunfermline.

He turned down an offer to stay at East End Park because he didn't want to play in the First Division. That suggests he clearly doesn't see yet another relegation scrap at Paisley.

I reckon the signing of former Manchester City trainee Mason is a big plus for Gus.

He's an industrious player and will give the team an impressive engine room beside Hugh Murray and Garry Brady.

Intriguing too is the arrival of central defender Will Haining from Oldham. We don't know much about him apart from his model partner Michelle Marsh.

He was captain and made more than 150 appearances for the English League One side after leaving Glasgow as a 16 year old.

Saints needed to bolster their defence with former skipper Kirk Broadfoot now a Rangers player. Meanwhile, Kevin McGowne has called it quits and assistant manager Andy Millen is unlikely to play too much more.

The Buddies have lost four other players in Sutton, Simon Lappin who left for Norwich at the turn of the year and two keepers in Tony Bullock and Craig Hinchcliffe.

Hence the signing of 20-year-old keeper Mark Howard who learned his trade at Arsenal and had a brief loan spell at Falkirk.

His rival for the keeper's jersey is just a year older and Chris Smith won't move over without a fight after massive lessons learned during the last couple of seasons.

Smith played most of the games as Saints won back their place in the SPL.

Although he lost his place at one point last season on the back of a blunder or two, I can recall some superb Smith saves in the crucial closing games.

I can also remember how cool, calm and composed gaffer Gus was as his team was slowly dragged into the relegation equation after a winless spell that stretched from Boxing Day to late April.

Unlike long-serving supporters with painful memories of the drop, MacPherson showed no trace of panic setting in as the tension mounted.

I did think at the time he was either due a best supporting actor nomination or he truly believed that Saints would steer themselves to SPL safety.

His team's next mission is to consolidate their place at the top table, especially when you think that work starts in the next few weeks on their new 8,000-seater stadium.

And, Renfrewshire Council permitting, the Buds will soon have a new training base in Paisley as well.

This week St Mirren will be limbering up at Lake Garda in Italy with still the possibility of four new players.

Things are starting to look up for a team that many pre-season tipsters expect to be going down.