Stephen Robinson has warned Rangers that the shackles are off for St Mirren in pursuit of a "marquee" result.
The Buddies manager insists St Mirren have "everything to gain" after securing a second consecutive top-six finish and with the possibility of European football next term.
The Paisley side currently sit fifth in the league table - two points above Dundee - and would enter the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds next season if they hold onto the league position.
And ambitious boss Robinson is targeting an upset against Rangers to boost their continental hopes in the first post-split matchday this weekend.
On Sky Sports, Robinson said: “For a club of our size, top six is a really big achievement. Now we’ve got here we have everything to gain.
“We sit in a European spot at the moment and it’s up to us to pursue that and go and play without any fear. We’ve had a lot of good performances (against the Old Firm) without the end product of a result. Our previous game against Celtic we were excellent for the first half but their subs changed the game and wore us down.
READ MORE: Key member of Rangers football staff targeted by Feyenoord
“It’s about trying to produce those performances over the course of a whole game and not just in periods. We believe we can do that. We can take the shackles off, we have achieved our first goal and now it’s about trying to achieve European football."
Robinson was in attendance at Hampden on Sunday when Rangers booked their spot in the Scottish Cup final with a 2-0 win over Hearts.
The St Mirren boss was again made acutely aware of the threat Rangers pose but insists his squad have what it takes to achieve a result having matched both Celtic and Rangers for spells this season.
“Rangers have an abundance of talent and players who can win games on their own," said Robinson. "I was at the semi final on Sunday and they have quality in all areas of the pitch. We have shown in stages we can match that and it’s about what we can do defensively - we have to be secure but when we land on the ball be brave and take the game to Rangers.
“We are at home, we have a very good record there and it will be a full house. We are looking forward to it. We will take this game in isolation, try and put a performance on and try to get a result. We have got close but we’ve not quite had that marquee result this season that perhaps we had last year against Celtic.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel