10 May 2021

Jim Goodwin wanted more from St Mirren’s season despite breaking new ground

10 May 2021

St Mirren have re-written the history books this season but boss Jim Goodwin admits it still cannot be viewed as a successful chapter.

The Buddies have reached two cup semi-finals for the first time since Rikki McFarlane’s team visited Hampden twice back in 1981/82.

They have also beaten both halves of the Old Firm in the same season for the first time in 31 years after dumping previously unbeaten Rangers out the Betfred Cup before stunning Celtic at Parkhead.

But having failed to nail down a top-six slot before suffering Hampden heartache for the second time in four months following Sunday’s Scottish Cup defeat to St Johnstone, Goodwin is disappointed he was not able to provide the happy ending the Paisley faithful were longing for.

He said: “Every season is about making progress.

“We got to a quarter-final of a cup last year and this year we’ve got to two semi-finals – it’s over 30 years since we’ve done that.

“We beat Rangers in the quarter-final of the League Cup, we won at Parkhead for the first time in 30-odd years.

“So we’ve done a lot this season that we haven’t done for decades.

“When the dust settles we’ll probably look back on the season and think it was a good one – but I wouldn’t say it was a hugely successful one.

“We set the bar really high this year. We were quite open and honest about that with our own supporters and the media that we wanted top six.

“We came up short, unfortunately, but we’ll learn from that next season and hopefully we’ll go that bit further.”

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