St Mirren's Jamie McGrath: The whole place would be up in ruins

There is no question that St Mirren have enjoyed a fine campaign.

St Mirren's Jamie McGrath says the carrot in the Scottish Cup quarter final away to Kilmarnock is getting back to Hampden and making amends for poor showing against Livingston n Betfred Cup last four earlier this year. (Photo by Roddy Scott / SNS Group)

Yet, Jamie McGrath can’t stomach the thought of one more hard luck story in a campaign that hasn’t delivered on its full promise.

The Paisley club will be expected to overcome relegation-threatened Kilmarnock in their Scottish Cup quarter-final at Rugby Park on Monday night. Failure to do so would place the tie alongside the Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Livingston – which came after Jim Goodwin’s team had removed Rangers for the competition – and, most agonisingly, the closing-minutes turnaround that denied them a place in the Premiership to six.

McGrath is used to better. The attacker has excelled in netting 14 times across his first full season in the Scottish game, following his January 2020 move from dominant club in that set-up, Dundalk. But he arrived with a clutch of winners medals from there courtesy of two titles, two League Cup and a FA Cup. Those honours followed on from badges earned through lifting two League Cups and a FA Cup with St Patrick’s Athletic. Yet, penalty shoot-out losses suffered in the FA Cup finals of 2017 and 2019 have moulded his mindset.

“At Dundalk, if you lost a game or two then the whole place would be up in ruins,” he said, winning everything in Ireland the driver to make the “step up” to Scottish football. “Losing two cup finals made for two days that weren’t the best. We have to look forward to Kilmarnock and give it our all because you want to play in semi-finals and hopefully a final.

“It was devastating not making the top six, losing a goal late on was the lowest point of the season. We had worked so hard and that was our target so to get so close and have it taken away was tough. Football is good as there is always another game and we have a quarter-final to look forward to. It will be a tricky tie away to Kilmarnock, we haven’t had it easy against them this year. But there is the carrot of the semi-final there and it would be great if we could get back to Hampden. We didn’t do ourselves justice in the Betfred Cup there.”

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