ST MIRREN legend Tony Fitzpatrick has urged the Saints' board to deal gaffer Danny Lennon in with a new long-term deal.

Buddies' chairman Stewart Gilmour has revealed Lennon's future will be discussed at a board meeting early next week when the dust settles on the 2013/14 campaign.

But Fitzpatrick has pinpointed Lennon's achievements - steering Saints to their first-ever League Cup victory last season and having them well placed to achieve their highest top-flight finish in 25 years after ending their relegation worries.

So he reckon Lennon is well overdue an extended deal to keep him in Paisley.

The Scottish Cup-winning St Mirren midfield ace also believes, that with five homegrown starlets regularly starting each week for his beloved Buddies, dispensing with Lennon's services could risk putting the club's conveyer belt of talent in jeopardy.

Fitzpatrick said: "The first question I have for the board is what is there to consider?

"Danny has done everything asked of him and more on one of the smallest budgets in the Premiership.

"He should be rewarded with a new long-term deal that will help ensure continuity and stability.

"When he came here Danny was given a budget that was a good bit down on the previous manager's and he had to go back to his old club at Cowdenbeath and bring in the likes of Darren McGregor and Gareth Wardlaw.

"But what he has done since then is build a side that is full of our home-developed talent, who play the game in the correct manner rather than going with experienced pros who will only fire fight by staving off relegation from one season to the next without the club ever really building anything.

"Danny won us our first League Cup, he has us playing in the correct fashion and we have the chance to finish seventh which would be our highest ever top tier finish in modern times.

"So I ask what more can Danny do to merit a new deal? It is just a mystery to me why he has not already been given one the minute the relegation play-off issue was put to bed."

Lennon's excellent relationship with Saints' youth supremo David Longwell has been at the heart of the fast-track progression of teenage talents like John McGinn through to the first team.

Fitzpatrick reckons that to dispense with Lennon's services could risk all of that.

He warned; "St Mirren have probably got more kids playing week-in, week-out than any other team in the Premiership and I include Dundee United in that.

"As a result, parents see that at this club their kids have a real chance to make the grade and that is largely because of the understanding between Danny and David Longwell.

"Get rid of Danny and you risk a new man coming in who does not put such great store on rearing our own talent and so all of that could go to pot.

"So for me the only sensible thing to do is deal Danny in."