Stephen Robinson has left Morecambe and returned to Scottish football to take charge of St Mirren, signing a contract until June 2024.
Stephen Robinson Leaves Role at Morecambe
A Short Stint in Lancaster
Robinson had only joined Morecambe in June 2021, signing a three-year deal with the Shrimps who had only just been promoted to League One.
The former Northern Ireland assistant manager overhauled the squad. He allowed over 17 players to leave the club while bringing in 18 new signings.
Before his move up north, Robinson and Morecambe found themselves in 21st position in League One. Despite this, they are one only point from safety and are still very much competing to push up the table.
Morecambe also impressed recently in the third round of the FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur. The Shrimps led 1-0 away from home until the 75th minute, eventually losing 3-1 to Antonio Conte’s men.
Also joining St Mirren will be Diarmuid O’Carroll, who has been a coach at Motherwell and Morecambe while Robinson was in charge.
Return to Scottish Football for Stephen Robinson
Robinson’s most notable managerial stint thus far was at Motherwell where he managed for three seasons between 2017 to 2020.
Originally an assistant manager at the club in 2015, he left the Steelemen before returning in 2017 as a first-team coach to assist Mark McGhee. Not even two weeks later he was made the manager of the club after McGhee’s departure.
Robinson led Motherwell to the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup finals in 2017/18, losing out to Celtic both times.
In his final season at the club, the former AFC Bournemouth player led his side to a third-place finish in the league, qualifying for Europa League qualifiers.
St Mirren Moved Quickly to Secure Signature
Having lost Jim Goodwin to Aberdeen just three days ago, the Saints knew they had to act quickly.
As Robinson joins the club, they currently sit in seventh position in the SPFL. They face Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Cup quarter-final in two weeks time.
St Mirren Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick believes Robinson is the perfect candidate to take the club forward. He told stmirren.com: “We are all delighted to welcome Stephen as the new manager of St Mirren.
“Stephen fits the profile of what we are looking for in a manager.
“He has great experience of the Scottish game and had good success on the park with Motherwell which saw him reach the finals of both the League and Scottish Cups as well a third-place finish and qualification for the Europa League.
“Stephen also did a tremendous job of developing young players at Motherwell which was an important consideration for us with the St Mirren Youth Academy one of the main pillars of our football club.
“We would like to thank Morecambe FC for their co-operation in getting this deal completed.”
With a vast amount of experience in the Scottish top tier, and a track record of producing top talent in the league, it will be interesting to see what Robinson can achieve with this hungry St Mirren side in the coming months and years.
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