The connections between St Mirren and Nothern Ireland aren’t difficult to see. Stephen Robinson is a proud Northern Irishman then there’s Conor McMenamin, Caolan Boyd-Munce and Oisin Smyth in the first-team.
Beyond that, Luke Kenny lifted the Irish Cup on loan at Cliftonville last term, Fraser Taylor sparkled in a breakout season at Ballymena and St Mirren No2 Diarmuid O’Carroll is a key member of the national team coaching staff as well as his duties at Paisley.
It’s little wonder then, that Robinson was keen to see more players develop in the NIFL Premiership with Kieran Offord the latest St Mirren kid making the move over the water.
Four goals in four league outings this term suggests another fruitful loan switch for a St Mirren prospect in Nothern Ireland – not least because for Robinson there are similarities to football in Scotland.
“I think it’s a really good place to put people on loan because it’s competitive,” said Robinson of his tendency to send players on loan to Northern Ireland.
“The Northern Ireland crowds are very similar to Scotland. They have patience of about five seconds. It equips players to play for us.
“It’s a really good environment to play football in. We’ll continue to loan players there and we see the benefits of that.
“Northern Irish football is on the up. The crowds are on the up. The quality of football is on the up.”
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This season saw Larne qualify to the UEFA Conference League proper banking around £4m for their participation in the league phase of the tournament.
Robinson insists he’ll be backing the club all the way in Europe with the qualification helping boost a seismic shift in the standards in his homeland.
He added: “I think the chances of European football has changed. The league has completely changed. The professionalism has changed. The outlook of owners has changed.
“It’s fantastic achieving from Tiernan Lynch and Larne and their owner Kenny Bruce.
“The owner has invested so much money into Larne and it’s fantastic. There’s a lot of investment going into Northern Irish football. It’s a brilliant achievement.
“It’s a game changer for the whole country. Larne, I’m delighted for them. We’ll be supporting them all the way in the Conference League. And Tiernan, especially the manager.”
