St Mirren team news vs Celtic as Robinson gives fitness update ahead of cup final

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson says he already has “probably nine out of 11” of his team in mind as the Buddies prepare to face Celtic in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup Final at Hampden.

Saints take on Celtic on Sunday 14th December, with kick-off at 3.30pm, aiming to lift the trophy for just the second time in the club’s history.

Robinson confirmed that midfielder Mark O’Hara has returned to training after six weeks out but admitted the final may come too soon for him to start.

“Yeah, he has trained,” Robinson said. “We were waiting last week to see the reaction of the second injection and that looks like it’s helped. Whether this game comes maybe a little bit too soon, we don’t know yet. He has been out six weeks so it may just be a game too soon.

“It would be a huge call for me to start Mark after six weeks out and three days training.”

There is also a doubt over Malik, who picked up an injury in training.

“Malik pulled up with an injury today, so it’s a wee bit of a doubt for us,” Robinson confirmed.

There was more positive news elsewhere, with Liam Donnelly coming through training again, while goalkeeper Shamal George trained despite recently dealing with a sickness bug.

“Shamal had a sickness bug, but he trained today,” Robinson said. “Other than Mark and Malik, we’re probably at full strength.”

Robinson said preparations for the final have been kept as normal as possible, with players keen to avoid any extra fuss in the build-up.

“The players wanted to keep it as normal as possible,” he said. “They didn’t want pre-match fuss. They wanted to treat it as a normal game and then afterwards that’s where the special occasion happens if you manage to get a result.”

The St Mirren manager rejected any suggestion that Celtic are vulnerable despite being in a transition period under a new manager.

“Not at all,” Robinson said. “They’ve got top quality players, top quality players. I would not ever use the word vulnerable with a top side like that.”

However, Robinson insists his side go into the final with belief, pointing to how close Saints have run Celtic this season.

“Over three games we’ve been very, very competitive without having the end product,” he said. “The goal on Sunday is can we have that level of performance and can we have the end product.”

Robinson also praised the backing Saints will receive at Hampden, with more than 13,000 St Mirren supporters set to make the trip.

“We average about 6,000 at home, so that is a fantastic turnout,” he said. “Hopefully we gain a few more fans from it with a good performance on Sunday.”