Stephen Robinson has already masterminded one St Mirren triumph over Philippe Clement’s Rangers this season.
In a result which sparked discussion in some quarters about the former Motherwell manager potentially taking over at Ibrox – albeit ex-Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell is not convinced Stephen Robinson is right for the job – St Mirren side stunned the Glasgow giants back in December.
Caolan Boyd-Munce’s 93rd minute long-ranger secured The Buddies their first league victory over Rangers since 2011.
The Paisley-based outfit are yet to sample the sweet sensation of a win at Ibrox however.
Robinson has hope that his plucky outfit can make history this weekend, though, as Rangers prepare to host St Mirren in a rare 3pm Saturday kick-off.
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St Mirren boss singles out Vaclav Cerny as Rangers dangerman
“We proved only a few weeks ago that we can beat them,” Robinson said during his Friday press conference. “Deservedly so in my eyes.”
Robinson knows that St Mirren’s best hope of successive wins over Rangers will largely rest on whether they can keep Clement’s talented frontline quiet.
With 10 goals to his name, Vaclav Cerny is joint-second behind Dundee United’s Sam Dalby in the Premiership Golden Boot race. Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane are also both in contention to be crowned the league’s top scorer on eight and nine goals apiece.
Ianis Hagi’s stunning return has left fans and pundits alike open-mouthed, meanwhile.
“You have to defend well,” adds Robinson, singling out the free-scoring Wolfsburg loanee for praise. “They’ve got a lot of talent up front. A lot of spark up front.
“Vaclav Cerny is a big threat, and they’ve got other players that can win games on their own.
“So we’re aware of that. But, if we press properly and we stay in the game, then we believe we’ve got threats of our own in the forward areas, in the wing-back areas.”
Stephen Robinson planned to expose Rangers’ attack-minded full-backs during December’s meeting in Paisley. A plan which had the desired results.
Presuming he will look to repeat that trick at Ibrox, the availability of speedy right-wing-back Ryan Alebiosu after a recent injury scare will be a major boost.
Former Arsenal youngster Alebiosu will be integral to exposing the buccaneering Jefte on the counter-attack.
Stephen Robinson says counter-attacks key to Ibrox gameplan
“Obviously, it’s an away game at Ibrox. The expectation will be on Rangers to come out and play. And obviously there’ll be spaces there to for us to play as well, there’ll be space in behind,” Robinson says.
“Rangers will play and try and dominate the game and dominate possession, which is fine for us. We’ve got players that can hurt the spaces in behind, so it has to be the same level of defensive performance.
“We have to defend well, we have to do the simple things. We’ve defended much better in recent weeks. And then we have to believe when we land on the ball, which we have done in in the last two games and in the previous game against Rangers.”
“We know what Rangers are. They’re a good side. They’ve got good individuals. Rangers are expected to win, they should turn up and beat us nine times out of ten.
“So the expectations are obviously on Rangers, but that’s up to us to manage that and then counter that with our own ideas.”
Danilo scored Rangers’ only goal of the game during their shock defeat to St Mirren two months ago. The former Ajax and Feyenoord striker is back in contention, Clement confirmed at his own pre-match presser, after another spell on the sidelines.
Rangers will be without star centre-back John Souttar, however, after he picked up a knock.
