St Mirren stick with McLeish after avoiding relegation

St Mirren have opted to keep Craig McLeish on as head coach after retaining their Scottish Premiership status via the play-offs. The 36-year-old stepped in on a temporary basis following the March departure of League Cup-winning boss Stephen Robinson to Aberdeen. McLeish won three of his nine league matches but was unable to prevent the St Mirren finishing second bottom as Kilmarnock hit form after the split. In the play-off final, they prevailed 2-1 against Partick Thistle, Marcus Fraser scoring the only goal of the second leg in Paisley. McLeish has agreed a three-year contract, with Stuart Taylor, 51, expected to his assistant. St Mirren returned to the top flight in 2018 and enjoyed three successive top six finishes prior to this campaign. Robinson had been at the helm since February 2022 and lifted the club's first silverware in 12 years after beating Celtic in last December's League Cup final. He left for Pittodrie with the Buddies sitting 10th in the table, three points in front of Kilmarnock. Visit our St Mirren page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Get St Mirren news notifications in the BBC Sport app