Jim Goodwin admits he fielded a weakened side against Celtic to give St Mirren the best possible chance to break Hearts on Wednesday night.
Regular fixtures Alex Jakubiak and Ilkay Durmus both started Saturday’s dismal 5-0 defeat to the Hoops on the bench, with Ross Wallace also sitting out after impressing against St Johnstone last Wednesday.
Goodwin revealed he’d be lying if he hadn’t picked his team bearing in mind this Wednesday’s pivotal game.
He told Express Sport: “There was an element of picking the team with the Hearts game in mind.
“We set up in a manner that we felt would give us the best chance of taking something from the game.
“But I’d be lying if I said Wednesday night against Hearts wasn’t more important than this Celtic game.
“We go into every game trying to win it, but we knew how difficult it was going to be. Celtic have played 16 league games at home this season and won 15 of them.
“They put four, five or six past teams all the time at Parkhead and, unfortunately, we’re on the receiving end of a sore one.”
