Liam Donnelly 'not surprised' by St Mirren success under Stephen Robinson
By Kyle Gunn
St Mirren's new boy Liam Donnelly admits he is not the least bit surprised by the job Stephen Robinson has done in Paisley – because of his past relationship with the former Motherwell boss.
The Northern Irish midfielder played under Robbo during their Well days after he joined the North Lanarkshire outfit in 2018 from Hartlepool United.
And the pair were reunited in Renfrewshire last week when he signed a two-year deal at the Buddies after leaving Kilmarnock for free.
In the past three years, Robinson has led the Buddies to three consecutive top-six finishes and gave them a taste of European football for the first time in 37 years last season.
While it doesn't shock the 29-year-old enforcer, he's hoping to squeeze his way into the starting lineup and enjoy even more success under the Buddies boss.
'What he's done for the club here hasn't been a surprise at all. I've seen it from the outside, the success of the last couple of years,' he told the Paisley Daily Express.
'Obviously, I was part of some of the success at Motherwell too, so [it was an] easy decision to come and I'm looking forward to working under him again.
'He was a big influence when I first went to Motherwell earlier in my career and my success at that time.
'So he's always someone I've kept in contact with. I was obviously keen to work with him again sometime, so I am delighted to be able to.
'I think he can push and get a bit extra out of me.'
Donnelly is grateful to be on the inside looking out rather than the outside looking in at the Paisley club after experiencing first-hand how difficult Robbo's teams are to play against.
He said: 'Not very nice! It certainly was never the easiest of games coming up against his team over the last couple of years.
'If you're not 100 per cent on it against a Stephen Robinson St Mirren team then it's not going to be an easy day at the office.
'We found it out that day [when St Mirren beat Kilmarock 5-1 last season]. I'm just here to hopefully add to that and hopefully continue the success St Mirren have had.'
And Donnelly's hoping to return to the form he displayed at Fir Park during a four-year spell between 2018 and 2022, which he has called the best football of his career.
He went on to say: 'I think that [Motherwell spell] was the best spell of my career, certainly in goalscoring.
'Hopefully, I get back to a bit of that! I had a good time at Kilmarnock as well under Derek McInnes.
'But I'm looking forward to working under Robbo again, and hopefully, he can bring out the best in me.'
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- Scotsman
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4 minutes ago
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The National
9 minutes ago
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