St Mirren: Will Craig McLeish stay after rollercoaster season?

It was far from a convincing performance against Thistle, hardly surprising given what was at stake, and the relief from supporters and players was palpable after the game.

“We wanted to make sure that after winning the League Cup the players are remembered as legends at this club,” McLeish said.

“We didn’t want that black mark against our name.

“The first half was nervy, sloppy and full of mistakes. It wasn’t really tactical, we just controlled our emotions. We did it better in the second half.”

McLeish won three of his nine league matches after Robinson’s departure, but could not keep St Mirren out of the play-off places as Kilmarnock shone after the split.

The change in approach initially led to a lift in performance, but results began to slide and cost them four defeats without scoring.

The 36-year-old has yet to fully address the goalscoring woes that have plagued their season.

Key defender Alex Gojic, however, said McLeish could do more with more time and would be happy to stay for him.

“Yes, of course, whatever the club likes,” he said.

“If he has a pre-season, it will probably be better than what it is. If the club decides to go his way, we will all be behind it.”

Former Dundee United and Partick Thistle boss Ian McCall says McLeish has done his chances no harm by taking St Mirren to safety.

“I don’t think he had any chance of getting a job if St Mirren got kicked out,” McCall said.

“He handled what he did really well and gave himself a real chance at work.

“The powers that be here took a real chance to hire a young man like that. But he’s really come through. He’s spoken really well.

“He came through a tough moment when Kilmarnock won 3-0 here. But he’s come back really strong.

“It didn’t go down when Craig McLeish took over. It was a poor result when Stephen Robinson was there after the cup final. He’s definitely got a chance.”