New St Mirren vice chair Jim Gillespie insists the Buddies could have finished as high as fifth — had their frontline not been decimated by injuries.
The Saints struggled for goals as they chased an historic top half Premiership finish, with strikers Collin Quaner, Eamonn Brophy and Kristian Dennis all absent over the final few months before the split.
Gillespie believes those forwards would have made all the difference to Jim Goodwin ’s side as they chased the top six.
He said: “No disrespect to some of the players St Mirren have brought in before, but we are now looking at recruiting top six quality and beyond.
“That’s why we’ve brought in the likes of Brophy, Quaner, Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Tait and that’s what we’ll continue to aim to do.
“Unfortunately Collin and Eamonn were injured, as was Kristian Dennis who had been on a good run of form.
“I’m convinced they’d have got at least 10 goals for us in the run-up to the split, and that would have made the difference between ending up in the top six or just missing out.
“In fact, I think we could have ended up fifth. As it is, the aim now is to finish seventh which would still be our best ever placing since the inception of the SPL.
“That, and a good Scottish Cup run, would be a good season despite the disappointment of not making the top six.”
