Richard Tait hoping to flourish after reunion with old boss Stephen Robinson

Richard Tait is hoping his reunion with Stephen Robinson at St Mirren can help him enjoy regular game time once more.

The pair worked together for three years at Motherwell before defender Tait moved to the Buddies in 2020.

They were reunited in Paisley towards the end of last month when former Well and Morecambe manager Robinson was appointed as Jim Goodwin’s successor.

After being a bit-part player for most of the season, Tait had just forced his way into the starting XI a few weeks prior to the managerial changeover, and he is delighted that he has stayed in the side – in his preferred position – for of each of the Northern Irishman’s first four games in charge.

“I worked with Stephen for a long time at Motherwell so I know how he works and how training goes,” said Tait.

“He’s a very good coach who works hard on the training pitch and gets the boys well drilled. We’ve just kind of picked up where we left off from Motherwell.

“It’s been nice to be back in the team and nice to play right-back again because I don’t think I’ve played there for about three years. It’s good to be back in my natural position and good to be back in the team. I’m enjoying the run.

“I’d imagine any new manager coming in would look to players they’ve worked with before and go from there so hopefully I can repay the faith he’s shown in me by keeping me in the team with performances on the pitch.”

Saints reached two Hampden semi-finals last season at a time when supporters were not able to attend due to Covid. Tait is hoping they can give their fans an eagerly-awaited day out at the national stadium by seeing off Hearts in Saturday evening’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tynecastle.

“I think the last two semi-finals we got to didn’t really feel like semi-finals because there were no fans there,” said Tait.

“I know that probably sounds a bit silly, but they just didn’t feel right. If we can get back to Hampden after this game, that would be a great reward for the fans.

“Fans remember days like that, especially little kids. They’ll always remember going to Hampden to watch St Mirren in a semi-final or final, so that’s the most important thing about getting past this stage, to try to create good memories for the fans.

“It’s going to be tough. Hearts have been our bogey team this year. They’ve beaten us three times in the league so hopefully in the cup it’s a bit different and it’s our time to win a match.”