Danny Lennon says he is 'thrilled and delighted' with St Mirren's progress

Danny Lennon has been delighted with his St Mirren players this year. SNS Group

Danny Lennon has said that St Mirren can be proud of their eighth place finish in the Scottish Premier League this season.

The Paisley side had set themselves a target of being “best of the rest” after failing to make the top half of the league before the split. Lennon said that although they failed to make that position, after being relegation candidates in previous seasons there were plenty of reasons to be positive.

"I'm thrilled and delighted to finish eighth,” he enthused. “It's been a fantastic season of progress in terms of the brand of football we've played throughout the season.

"I'll be the first to admit it hasn't always worked for us, but in terms of what we're trying to do at this football club we've set the stall out and the players have bought into it.

"I'm delighted for the fans who have travelled up here to see their side finish eighth."

The manager, in his second season at the club, said that seeing players develop into key figures in the team had been rewarding.

"I look at the likes of Kenny McLean, and it's great to see the maturity of him,” Lennon explained.

"Marc McAusland has had a wonderful season, and has shown great consistency, while Craig Samson in goal recorded his 16th clean sheet of the season.

"Whilst we've beaten all these targets in finishing eighth, they don't mean a lot to anyone outside the football club, but to us it shows the progression.

"We have one or two things up our sleeve to continue that progress, as every club will have."

Though the side finished their campaign with a stalemate at Pittodrie, Lennon said that the teamwork and attitude on display had pleased him.

"The result at the end doesn't always have a true reflection on how the game is,” he said.

"The first half today, Aberdeen got out of the traps very well, but we started to build up a good rhythm.

"The final ball let us down, and then Aberdeen came back at us, as we knew they would.

"That's a side of the game that I like to see from us. We play for each other for the full 90 minutes, even when it's not going our way.

"When you look at all the great sides around the world, that's what they all do."

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