A mid-table team in the Scottish Premiership might not seem the likeliest candidate to be considered Britain’s unluckiest football club, but spare a thought for Stephen Robinson.
St Mirren are poised just outside the Premiership’s top six but an extraordinary run of player problems and even an untimely brush with the forces of nature have left manager Robinson to rue his fortunes so far this autumn.
The Buddies’ home win against St Johnstone last Wednesday was a rare oasis of calm under the floodlights in Paisley. All three league wins this season have been at home. The other two were against Hibernian and Hearts, the two Edinburgh sides propping up the table with three wins between them.
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Fan-owned St Mirren posted two consecutive club statements on their website last week, confirming that striker Kevin van Veen (charged with domestic abuse) and left-back Jaden Brown (awaiting sentencing for three driving offences) had appeared in court on the same day and would be unavailable for Saturday’s fixture against Ross County, which ended 0-0.
Van Veen and Brown also missed the win against St Johnstone with the club stating that the on-loan Dutch striker was absent through injury, though he appeared in court the following day and his case is ongoing.
Remarkably, St Mirren had already dealt with a similar situation. Late in September, new signing Shaun Rooney was charged with assaulting an 18-year-old woman in a takeaway in Glasgow and with a breach of the peace – treated as a hate crime – involving an 18-year-old man.
Rooney promptly left St Mirren by mutual consent last month and Robinson must have expected that to be the last time a player would take himself out of contention by getting involved with the authorities.
Then, on Monday, the SMiSA Stadium had to be closed because of flood damage. Phone lines and wi-fi were taken out of commission, staff sent home and the ticket office closed.
These are all distractions Robinson could do without as he works to ensure the Buddies are in the top six when the Premiership table splits in two after 33 matches.
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“It’s been challenging on and off the pitch,” said a philosophical Robinson. “[I’m paid to] worry about the football, pick the best team I can and get results.
“We had a terrific result on Wednesday night, a brilliant performance at Ibrox [in the previous fixture], so things on the pitch are moving in the right direction and that is my sole focus.
“I am in control of the players for three or four hours of the day. People are grown adults, the football club is not in control of the players 24 hours a day. But everyone is well aware of their responsibilities, how they should behave, and the vast majority do.”
Robinson and St Mirren will be hoping their luck holds when they face Hibs again on Saturday. Easter Road has been a happy hunting ground for opponents so far in 2023-24 and it could easily be the hosts who end the day cursing the fates.
