St Mirren are reportedly set to keep Craig McLeish as their manager for their double-header against Celtic next month.
After Stephen Robinson left for Aberdeen, McLeish was installed as interim manager at the Paisley club, taking charge of their last two matches.
Carl Robinson (no relation) emerged as the leading contender to replace him in the dugout, but they were unable to prise Gordon Forrest from China to be his assistant.
As a result, 35-year-old McLeish will remain in situ until the end of the season with Tony Docherty as his assistant, the Daily Record report.
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Craig McLeish to lead St Mirren for Celtic clashes
Celtic host the Saints on April 11th, in the league’s final game before the end-of-season split.
A week later, the Hoops meet them again in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday the 19th, with the game at Hampden kicking off at 2PM.
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The fact that it was St Mirren who beat the Celts earlier this season in the Premier Sports Cup final at the same stadium adds to the significance of the game.
Plenty of things have changed since then, though – that was one of just eight games taken charge of by Wilfried Nancy in his disastrous 33-day spell.
It was Robinson’s finest hour in charge of the Buddies, and along with three consecutive top-six finishes, it has now earned him a shot at the hotseat at Pittodrie.
McLeish has reportedly impressed the board at St Mirren with how he has gone about things so far, despite only being in the job for a fortnight.
In his first game, they hosted Rangers, falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat. Last weekend, they claimed an unexpected 2-1 away win at top-six challengers Falkirk.
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Speaking about his future, McLeish has openly stated that he has his eyes set on the permanent job, voicing his “confidence” in the position.
Head of youth development Allan McManus and goalkeeping coach Jamie Langfield will make up the rest of McLeish’s backroom team along with Docherty.
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