St Mirren have already tasted cup glory this season, lifting one trophy and coming agonizingly close to another final. Now, manager Craig McLeish is calling on his squad to channel that knockout spirit into what he's dubbed three "cup finals" in the league—with the possibility of two more if they're forced into a Premiership survival playoff.
First up: a massive showdown against Kilmarnock in Paisley. It's a must-win, and few would argue otherwise. With just three matches remaining, the Buddies find themselves clinging to the play-off spot—the second-bottom rung of the top-flight ladder—after a 1-0 defeat at Dens Park, while Kilmarnock boosted their own hopes with a convincing 3-0 win over Dundee United.
Make no mistake: this is essentially a two-horse race to avoid the playoff. Saturday's meeting is colossal.
Kilmarnock head into it with a slight edge in momentum. That victory over United was their only win in four since the start of April, but rattling in three goals will have done wonders for their confidence. Still, Killie have managed just one away win all season—a stat that should give St Mirren hope. The catch? The only other team with that dubious record is Livingston, who notched their solitary road victory at the SMISA Stadium just a few weeks ago. That's a worrying sign for the home side.
St Mirren's form is equally concerning. They haven't won since beating Aberdeen at the start of April, losing all three league matches since without scoring a single goal. The lack of firepower has been the story of their season—they've netted just 27 times in the league, a staggering 12 fewer than already-relegated Livingston and 14 fewer than Kilmarnock.
The scoring burden has been shared sparingly. Defender Miguel Freckleton is joint-top league scorer with striker Mika Mandron, both on just four goals. For context, Mandron bagged seven in the league last season—one behind Toyosi Olusanya, who departed a year ago. With three games left, the big man has a chance to match or surpass that tally. It might also go a long way toward keeping the Buddies in the Premiership. No pressure, then.
Worth noting: Mandron has scored seven goals in cup competitions this season. If these are indeed cup finals, that bodes well for St Mirren.