Stephen Robinson tells Rangers the shackles are OFF St Mirren as Paisley boss chases 'marquee' win

Stephen Robinson says St Mirren are ready to take the shackles off against Rangers on Sunday as they chase their first “marquee” result of the season to boost their Euro hopes.

The Buddies boss has praised his side for achieving objective one by clinching a top six finish. Now he wants them to take the next step and book a return to European football for the first time since 1987. Rangers visit Paisley for a lunchtime kick off on Sunday a couple of hours before Celtic take on Dundee as the title race goes into the final stages. And Robinson said: “For a club of our size, top six is a really big achievement. Now we’ve got here we have everything to gain.

“We sit in a European spot at the moment and it’s up to us to pursue that and go and play without any fear. We’ve had a lot of good performances (against the Old Firm) without the end product of a result. Our previous game against Celtic we were excellent for the first half but their subs changed the game and wore us down.

“It’s about trying to produce those performances over the course of a whole game and not just in periods. We believe we can do that. We can take the shackles off, we have achieved our first goal and now it’s about trying to achieve European football.

“Rangers have an abundance of talent and players who can win games on their own. I was at the semi final on Sunday and they have quality in all areas of the pitch. We have shown in stages we can match that and it’s about what we can do defensively - we have to be secure but when we land on the ball be brave and take the game to Rangers.

“We are at home, we have a very good record there and it will be a full house. We are looking forward to it. We will take this game in isolation, try and put a performance on and try to get a result. We have got close but we’ve not quite had that marquee result this season that perhaps we had last year against Celtic.”

Rangers have taken just two points from their last three league matches to hand the title initiative back to Celtic. A defeat at Ross County was followed up by a dismal draw in Dundee. St Mirren have lost 3-0, 2-0 and 1-0 to the Ibrox side this season. But Robinson told Sky Sports: “I don’t think what goes on perviously will count on the day. Rangers had a very good result on Sunday and are getting players back to full fitness. They will always be a threat because they have a lot of talent in the squad whatever team he puts out.

“There’s key moments in games we believe we are getting better at managing. We have to take opportunities and I think that’s been the difference. Rangers and Celtic have taken theirs and we have missed ours. As well as stating the obvious - trying to keep 11 players on the pitch.”