![\"3zgxoh9shbvwqwvnvppuhhw921lj7yjsv2ivnpcat0hmr8ps.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/3zgxoh9shbvwqwvnvppuhhw921lj7yjsv2ivnpcat0hmr8ps.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
Well, we did it. Consecutive top-six finishes for the first time since the 1984\/85 season.<\/p>Well, we did it. Consecutive top-six finishes for the first time since the 1984\/85 season.<\/p>
While our position was confirmed on the day we fell to a 2-1 loss<\/u><\/a> to Hearts, don\u2019t let anyone tell you we \u201climped over the line<\/em>\u201d (some da\u2019), we \u201cmade it there through other teams\u2019 failings<\/em>\u201d (some other da\u2019) or any of that \u201cuntrue pish<\/em>\u201d (me: your real da\u2019).<\/p> No.<\/p> We made it by being a great bunch of lads. A great bunch of history-making lads.<\/p> We now sit in fifth place, a single point off our best ever top-flight return with five games still to play, and a fight for Europe well and truly on.<\/p> So, how did we get here?<\/p> I\u2019m Misery Hunters\u2019 Andrew Christie<\/u><\/a> with this week\u2019s special edition of The Back Five.<\/p> <\/p> Forget clever foreshadowing. I know writers who use subtext, and they\u2019re all cowards.<\/p> Use the first chapter of your book <\/u><\/a>to expressly and unsubtly lay out to the reader exactly what\u2019s to come.<\/p> A breathless, gung-ho start. Bit of a wobble in the middle. Late drama and heroics. Really good start to the season. Really fun day.<\/p> <\/p> Last season we struggled on the road, with only 14 of our total tally of 46 points coming outside the PA3 postcode. While not fully arresting the problem (we currently have a 63% home\/37% away points distribution) we have travelled much better this season, with 3-0 wins at Pittodrie and Easter Road acting as a a real statement. That statement: it\u2019s really funny to beat those guys.<\/p> <\/p> This season has been a monument to that look my Dad gives me when I suggest going to the pub with ten minutes of a match to go, as late goals against Hibs (x2), Livi, Ross County and Aberdeen gave us some massive moments in our journey to the top six. In fact, we have amassed 9 points from goals scored after the 86th minute so far this term.<\/p> Yes, the queue at the bar will be a nightmare when we get there, but Olusanya\u2019s face vs Aberdeen. Aw man, what a guy. What a season.<\/p> <\/p> I\u2019m watching them at their job<\/u><\/a>. But it also seems like they\u2019re pals<\/u><\/a>. I just think that\u2019s neat<\/u><\/a>.<\/p> <\/p> More than any other sport, football is representational. A club\u2019s stadium represents a community. The old Love Street - home to St Mirren for 115 years - meant so much to so many, and a mid-season move to Greenhill Road was always going to be challenging.<\/p> Dwindling crowds, spells in the Championship and the powerful weight of nostalgia contributed to an all-round crisis of identity in the early days of our new digs.<\/p> Football stadiums grow and mutate to match the identity of their inhabitants, however. Some tireless work from the club, the charitable foundation, and various fan groups has grown the feeling around the place year on year.<\/p> Outside the Old Firm, only Kilmarnock have won more games at home this campaign. Attendances are at an all-time high (we have surpassed the 7k mark five times this season and will almost certainly add to that post-split). The link between club and community is as strong as it has ever been and St Mirren Park truly feels like a home deserving of its top six status. <\/p> <\/p> <\/p>","urlTitle":"the-back-five-12","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-12\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/the-back-five-12\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/miseryhunters.co.uk\/blog\/the-back-five-12\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1712689791,"updatedAt":1712763131,"publishedAt":1712763130,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":106606,"name":"Misery Hunters"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zdfsw7km75ark1h0mr6adltzspky1retc2wggddmyvdlniei.png","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zdfsw7km75ark1h0mr6adltzspky1retc2wggddmyvdlniei.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zdfsw7km75ark1h0mr6adltzspky1retc2wggddmyvdlniei.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":42062,"title":"The 2024\/25 Scottish Premiership Shirts, Ranked","url":"\/blog\/kit-ranking-title\/","urlTitle":"kit-ranking-title","division":106606,"description":"Misery Hunters resident football shirt enjoyer, hipster and legend Andrew Christie rates this season's Scottish Premiership kits.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/w2eitv2d9twkniayvttextqligscyxfrnf5ax8r6vqdoq9no.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/w2eitv2d9twkniayvttextqligscyxfrnf5ax8r6vqdoq9no.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":16226,"title":"All Too 'Well","url":"\/blog\/all-too\/","urlTitle":"all-too","division":106606,"description":"Fresh from an eventful deadline day that included the signings of Jordan Jones, Alex Gogi\u0107 and the departure of Jamie McGrath, St Mirren welcomed fourth-placed Motherwell to the SMISA Stadium on Tuesday night. Since losing talismanic striker Tony Watt to Dundee United, Graham Alexander\u2019s side have felt like a team struggling with their own footballing identity, picking up only a single point from three disappointing, tactically disjointed displays this side of the winter break. Upon seeing Saints\u2019 new boy Jones start in an attacking 4231 \u2013 fan\u2019s confidence of a fourth win on the bounce for the Paisley side was high","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/0zkqcx2d43po4dzqi9jmr7u4hnf0mvqjbrdsdkzg0kkivtfp.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/0zkqcx2d43po4dzqi9jmr7u4hnf0mvqjbrdsdkzg0kkivtfp.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":39273,"title":"The Back Five #17","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-17\/","urlTitle":"the-back-five-17","division":106606,"description":"Join Misery Hunters writer Andrew Christie as he casts an eye over the past seven days of St Mirren Football Club.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/5rmpi3sxctckcogh3ucbfxlilon3beet0fey829nyhonazei.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/5rmpi3sxctckcogh3ucbfxlilon3beet0fey829nyhonazei.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}![\"tlwkxay6o81dcekrmzenfv1ldztv2i40zeuyh3ykdtr7bdjz.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/tlwkxay6o81dcekrmzenfv1ldztv2i40zeuyh3ykdtr7bdjz.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
A Shape of Things to Come<\/h3>![\"5d9qy1cyxrmrodgwxm0mdyrr3mvtferikakvbgizfadoghll.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/5d9qy1cyxrmrodgwxm0mdyrr3mvtferikakvbgizfadoghll.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
On the Road<\/h3>![\"ap83vutjtn2ik3rit5d8gsif8lvqgpvquvzosrtxmuwoed8a.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/qyaz7pikew5qgc1gnwgcj3pzumbcxak0uvfeauu4swk24hte.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
The Late Shows<\/h3>![\"xb8h1d02iyoh7v72p9e6xymo2ruxtoleftcrkpacpwtcas04.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/xb8h1d02iyoh7v72p9e6xymo2ruxtoleftcrkpacpwtcas04.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
Squad Togetherness<\/h3>![\"2cq9wvw1np0mrh8klb8xz2rtwki5junq2ajoktzlaqqsresu.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/2cq9wvw1np0mrh8klb8xz2rtwki5junq2ajoktzlaqqsresu.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
Home is Where<\/h3>