St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson hailed a team effort on and off the pitch after his side beat Celtic 3-1 to win the Premier Sports Cup.
Robinson has a strong case to be St Mirren’s greatest manager after following three consecutive top-six finishes with the club’s fifth major cup win.
But his thoughts were for his players and others after Jonah Ayunga’s second-half double earned the Buddies a deserved Hampden win.
“In terms of coaching staff, playing staff, admin staff, we’ve got the smallest in the country,” the Northern Irishman said. “And for the level of work they put in, I’m delighted for them more than myself.
“Obviously, I’ll sit back and enjoy it at some stage. But for the people that put all the hard work in and the players that have to go in the arena, they’re the ones that deserve all the credit.”
Robinson described his emotions after the full-time whistle.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said the 51-year-old, who lost two cup finals against Celtic when he was Motherwell boss.
“I was looking for my family. My two boys are over from Belfast. My wife was here, she doesn’t go to lots of games because she doesn’t like the stick that you get. My sister’s here, her husband. So it’s brilliant for them.
“They’re the ones that read all the stuff. They hear all the criticism. You forget as a manager, I’m somebody’s son, somebody’s dad, somebody’s husband, somebody’s brother, and they take it a lot more personally than I do. That’s the industry I’m in.
“For them, it’s a special day. I’m delighted to give them that day.
“The fans have been fantastic to me. Even when we went six games without a win or something, at no time did I hear any criticism. They’re just behind the group. They believe in what we do and that’s very refreshing in an era of football where you don’t get a lot of time.
“When you see banners, when you see the fans’ reaction, I’m absolutely humbled. I don’t really seek a lot of attention in life, I’m quite happy for my players to have it.
“They’re the ones that have to put their bodies on the line, take the information on board, carry that out. I like to see them get the praise more than anything.
“They’re the ones that’ll be remembered forever. I want to see their name and their pictures all around the stadium like the other teams that have won trophies.”
Robinson started without top goal-scorer Mikael Mandron, who scored seven times in the earlier rounds, but Ayunga stepped up to double his tally for the season.
“We got a phone call at half seven this morning from Mika to say he’d been throwing up all night. He’d been really, really struggling,” said Robinson.
“That takes a real man, a real professional to do that. It’s easy not to tell the truth. It’s easy to try and battle through. But he still played a huge part in this and his honesty probably describes the whole group.
“I’ve taken Jonah lots of places that I’ve gone and he’s got so much talent. He’s got absolutely everything. When he plays like that, he’s unplayable. I thought he terrorised the three centre-halves with his pace, his strength, his quality. And I’m delighted for him because he’s a lovely, lovely boy.”
