McLeish wants to excite but will prioritise solidity

St Mirren boss Craig McLeish says his team must prioritise defensive solidity this season if they are to make a tilt at the top six. McLeish kept the Buddies up last season via the play-offs after taking over from Stephen Robinson, who previously guided the Paisley club to three straight top-half finishes and a League Cup triumph. "If you just aim at surviving in this league and you fall short of that, you're in trouble," McLeish said. "We have to aim as high as we possibly can and top six and European qualification is what we're going to strive to achieve." After scoring 12 goals in the Premier Sports Cup group stage, McLeish said: "The way we're playing with an extra attacker, with some of the bodies we've brought in, hopefully that's the bit that we can solve this season as well because we also can't get away from what's made St Mirren successful over the years. "We have to be hard to play against. We have to enjoy keeping clean sheets. We have to love defending and being aggressive in everything we do. It's keeping those core bits and then adding the attacking side to it as well. "We want it to be exciting. We want it to be good to watch, fun for the players to play in. I want it to be enjoyable for the supporters. We will be hard working, we'll be high energy and we have to be tough to beat first and foremost." McLeish still wants to add to his squad after signing 20-year-old Rangers midfielder Paul Nsio on loan. However, a move for Ghanaian midfielder Abdul Hakim Sulemana has fallen through. "Paul brings us a kind of level of physicality and athleticism that we can't source," McLeish said. "He can cover a number of different positions."