JACK ROSS is determined to make the Paisley 2021 Stadium home sweet home for St Mirren as they attempt to climb the Championship standings.

The 40-year-old took charge of his Saints squad for the first time on Monday morning after bowing out as Alloa boss with victory over Bala Town at the weekend.

Ross will step into the dugout as Buddies boss on Saturday when they face Dundee United and bid for their first league win of the campaign.

St Mirren are rooted to the foot of the second tier table after a poor start to the season but Ross is keen to get off and running in front of the home crowd on Saturday.

He said: “I think the challenge for the players starting from this weekend is that you have to treat your home stadium like your own home in that people should not come in to it and leave with very much if not asked to, that is the case when you play opposition teams.

“So when you have a run of home games like that it is a fantastic opportunity for you to set markers and set standards in that respect. That is something the way the fixtures are panned out will allow the players to do that.

”We trained together [on Monday] morning and there is so much for me to be positive about in that sense so when that comes around it is a perfect opportunity but hopefully before then we will have put down markers in terms of our home form but that again gives you an opportunity to strengthen when it comes around.”

While Ross was winning in Wales with Alloa at the weekend, St Mirren were also in Irn-Bru Cup action as they beat Hibernian.

The draw for the quarter-finals has handed the Saints a home tie with Championship counterparts Ayr United next month.

And the new Buddies boss has already set his sights on the silverware after he avoided being quickly reunited with the Wasps in the last eight.

Ross told the club website: “When people look at the size of the clubs that are involved in it, and obviously with no Premiership teams in it to begin with, I think people looked at our tie in the previous round as being the biggest tie in the competition in that round so whoever won that tie was giving themselves a positive chance of winning it just purely based on the team that they were knocking out.

“We have got another Championship team which means that we have to do well again to progress and there is every chance that the way the draw is that we could face another team from our league in the latter stages again so to win there is no bigger or lesser challenge than there is for us on a weekly basis in league games because it’s similar opposition.

“But I think when you get to this stage, when you get to the last eight of any competition, your absolute ambition should be to go on and win it.”