St Mirren’s players went through the emotional wringer as they somehow scrapped their way to a great escape from the drop out of the Championship last season.

But Buddies boss Jack Ross reckons that the experience of facing up to must-win games on a weekly basis can set them in good stead to challenge at the top end of the table next season.

Ross admits that the break from action will have done his players good, and will have allowed them to recharge the batteries both physically and mentally after a gruelling end to the campaign.

But he has warned his players that he will be expecting the same level of intensity from them every week, right from when they kick off their Betfred Cup campaign with a visit to Stranraer on July 15th.

“There’s no doubt that dealing with those massive games on a weekly basis was taxing for the players, both on their bodies and their minds,” Ross said.

“They have been able to rest up now though, and if anything, the experience we went through last season is what big teams who challenge for titles go through on a weekly basis.

“Teams at the top end always have to handle that pressure on them to win, and they look at every game as a must-win. We experienced that as a result of being in a difficult position, but the whole mind-set of the players at the club should always be like that.

“I think it’s great that the players have been exposed to that, because it gives them an idea of what will be required if we are to get to where we want to be.

“Ultimately, we believe that a club like St Mirren should be up there challenging at the top of this division, so if we want to be there, we have to face up these mental challenges and bring that intensity to all of our games.

“As far as I’m concerned, our season starts proper with the Betfred Cup and we’ll be treating it as such. After that, I expect that same sort of approach to every game throughout the season.”

Ross is happy to have conducted the majority of his business early on in the transfer market, as he looks to build on the momentum of the closing months of last season.

“My approach in general way back to when I started at Alloa was to try and get my squad in place as early as possible, and I’ve tried to do that again here,” he said.

“The boys have been in since last Thursday, and things have gone really well. There’s a settled feel to the place, and although there may be more turnover, we’ve got a fairly settled squad.

“Hopefully we’ll feel the benefits of that, and hopefully that can allow us to maintain that momentum that we had from the last three or four months of the season.

“The priority for me was to try and retain the players who did so well in that period, and we’ve managed to do that in the main.

“There are areas where we felt we had to strengthen, and some of the players we have brought in like Craig Samson and Gavin Reilly are proven at higher levels than the Championship.

“Hopefully they will improve us.”

While Ross would be content to start the season with the squad of players he currently has in place, he would ideally like to still bring one or two more players in.

“I would like to bring another forward player in,” he said. “I feel we are ok in other areas, although if players came up that I felt would improve us then I would be open to that.

“We’re in a pretty good place right now though, and I would be happy even if nobody else came in.”