St Mirren chief executive insists survival would rival Scottish Cup win

Fitzpatrick ranks defeating Dundee United to lift the trophy back in 1987 as one of the greatest days of his career.

But he believes beating the same opposition over two legs this week in the Premiership play-offs would be just as significant for manager Oran Kearney and his players.

He said: “This tie is just as important as winning the Scottish Cup. That was a fantastic achievement back in 1987 when we won a major trophy for just the third time in the club’s history. Being a part of that was amazing. It’s a day I’ll never forget.

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“But securing our Premiership survival this season is just as important. And it would be some achievement if the club can do it against a big club like United, just as it was lifting the cup that day.

“It’s our first year back in the top division and it would be terrific if we could stay up. You would have thought going undefeated throughout the split to take 11 points would be enough but it wasn’t to be. But we would have grabbed this chance a few months ago.”

Fitzpatrick revealed there was a lot more than pride at stake over these two legs, starting with the first match at Tannadice on Thursday. He added: “It will make a huge difference to us financially if we can stay up as opposed to dropping back into the Championship.

"We had a five-year plan in place and if anything Jack Ross took us into the Premiership last season maybe too quickly. But now that we’re here we definitely want to stay.

“The difference between the two leagues in terms of what you can achieve is incredible. And there are people’s livelihoods at stake, behind the scenes as well as on the playing front. We run a pretty tight ship anyway but if the players need any extra motivation then it comes in the shape of all the good people who work at the club.”

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There has been speculation about Kearney returning to former club Coleraine in the summer but Fitzpatrick wants the Northern Irishman in charge next season, regardless of which division Saints end up in.

“When we brought in Oran it was about bringing stability to the club. He signed a three-year deal and we want him here to continue the great work he has started. Nobody would have mentioned it if the Coleraine situation hadn’t come up but we don’t want to be looking for another manager this summer. When we appoint managers we want to keep them.”

Most Premiership clubs go into the play-off on a poor run of results but St Mirren have lost only one of their last eight matches, and that was against Celtic.

Fitzpatrick added: “Usually teams are on a downer going into these ties but everyone here is on a real high. The team’s form over the last few months has been terrific and we can go into these two matches with a lot of confidence.

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“This group of players have got a winning mentality. They’re scoring last-minute goals and never give up. Even if they go a goal down – as they might at Tannadice – you always believe they will come back. That shows their character.

“I know our fans will back us again in massive numbers. They were brilliant again at Dundee at the weekend and we look forward to having them behind us for two massive matches.”