Stephen Robinson excited to have fully-fit Mark O'Hara back
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is relishing the prospect of getting a fully-fit Mark O'Hara back after praising his captain for playing through the pain barrier.
The midfielder is set to return to the squad for Tuesday's cinch Premiership contest with Ross County in Dingwall after struggling with a thigh injury.
The 28-year-old has only played once in 2024 and Robinson revealed he had been affected by the problem in the latter stages of last year.
"We are hopeful we will have Mark O'Hara back in the squad," Robinson said.
"Mark's been fantastic for me. He has struggled in the last few months with injury. He tried to play on with it. People don't realise that, the things that the boys go through for the football club.
"We just had to pull him out to get him 100 per cent right. We are hopeful he is there now and it's certainly a big boost to have him back."
Robinson has no fresh injuries following Saturday's win over St Johnstone and could have a full squad in the coming weeks.
Conor McMenamin could also be on the bench in Dingwall after a lay-off, while Ryan Strain is kicking a ball again with the physios as he fights back to fitness following groin surgery.
"We have a small squad but a really strong squad," Robinson said. "If we have everyone fit and fighting for places, then to maybe have two of Keanu Baccus, Kwon, Caolan Boyd-Munce, Mark O'Hara on the bench would be a real position of strength."
Saturday's win was another step closer to a top-six place for St Mirren, who have an eight-point advantage over seventh-placed Hibernian, but Robinson is focused on getting results rather than considering the table.
"We have had a very good season but we want to make sure we finish it off," he said. "We don't want to think we have already done something before it's been achieved.
"We have hard games coming up. Every game is different, people are either fighting for their lives or trying to get into the top six.
"We have to be disciplined, remain focused. We know what we want within the dressing room, we don't go shouting about what we are trying to achieve.
"You can't stop people looking at the table, that's for fans to do, you want them to get excited and dream.
"My job is to keep the players focused and we do that within those four-game blocks. We have calculated what points we will need to get into the top six. So you get perspective on that if you don't get them or you get more points than you expected in one block, then it gives you a little bit of leeway.
"But it's about remaining calm and focused on what's in front of you, you can't get too carried away on maybes and buts."
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