Stephen Robinson has backed the decision not to send off Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland in the closing stages of St Mirren’s 2-1 defeat to the Light Blues in Paisley.
With the Buddies trailing in the closing stages, Robinson brought on striker Toyosi Olusanya in a last-ditch effort to salvage a point for the hosts. Just minutes after coming on, the 26-year-old charged down fellow Englishman Butland as he came out of his penalty area to clear, and fell to the ground after a collision with the goalkeeper.
To the bewilderment of Butland and his team, referee Nick Walsh awarded St Mirren the free kick just outside the box and also decided to show the former Stoke City and Birmingham player a yellow card. Buddies boss Robinson admits he had no problem with the decision and did not believe Butland intended to harm striker Olusanya. He said: “I think he came out to play the ball. If there is contact, I think it was unintentional. I didn’t get it back but he came out without any malice.”
“He was brilliant – he kept Rangers in the game with a brilliant save which obviously influenced the result. But no, I don’t think it should be a red card.”
However, the Irishman admitted he is fed up of receiving praise but no points from his Old Firm rivals. The St Mirren manager has seen his team face the big two seven times this season, but it has been frustrating for the Northern Irishman, whose team have lost every time.
The overall score of these seven matches is a whopping 18-2 in favour of the Glasgow giants. While Robinson is proud of the performance of his European rivals, he admits he is tired of always getting a pat on the back.
Asked how he felt after a Jack Bolton own goal and a late Cyriel Dessers header handed his team another defeat, he said: “Frustrated. At the end of the day, I’ve received a lot of praise from top-class managers this season.”
“Philippe Clement praised us highly and Brendan Rodgers did the same a few weeks ago. But ultimately we came away from both games without any points.
“We created enough chances today to win the game, let alone draw.” Their goalkeeper made some great saves. The two goals could have been avoided, two bad goals conceded.
“The first was a lack of communication, something we want from the boys. Society doesn’t talk to each other much these days, so we try to demand that from them, but we didn’t and we were punished for it. The second was, as good as it was a cross, if we had defended it 100 times, we would have won when it was 1 against 3 in the box.
“It was frustrating to lose the goals. We have to be better and we demand more. Unfortunately, all the praise in the world doesn’t bring any points.”
Robinson struggled to contain his emotions on the bench at times, but said: “I’m usually frustrated for 96 minutes. I think we should win every time against Rangers and Celtic. I may be imagining it, but those are our aspirations and if you approach it any other way you probably shouldn’t be playing football.”
The defeat was particularly bitter for Saints goalkeeper Alex Gogic, who barely made a mistake during his stoic 90-minute performance and ended up making an amazing goal-line save to keep out a Tom Lawrence shot. Robbo, whose team remain fifth and on course for a Conference League place, added: “It’s emblematic of the spirit, class and quality of our lads. I expect nothing less.”
“We have such a good group of boys – sometimes too nice, but I want more from them, I demand more from them because I believe many of them can move up and play at a higher level and I believe the club can stay in the top six. To do that you have to be demanding of each other.”
