Joe Shaughnessy planning St Mirren stay as captain opens up on top six target and lengthy spell out of the team

dailyrecord.co.uk:

St Mirren skipper Joe Shaughnessy insists he was never going to rock the boat during his lengthy spell watching from the dugout.And the experienced defender also revealed he isn’t about to jump ship as he aims to help the Saints sail to the promised land of the Premiership top six this season.Despite being club captain, Shaughnessy has had to make do with fleeting appearances so far this season, finding himself adrift from the starting XI and making just three sub appearances between October and December in a tricky barren spell.

The 30-year-old has sailed back into Stephen Robinson’s side this month, though, starting their last three games including Wednesday night’s tough trip to Celtic Park.While he was linked with a move back to his native Ireland after his lengthy spell on the fringes of the squad, Shaughnessy insists he never considered abandoning his Buddies as he aims to steer them to a destination that’s eluded St Mirren for decades – a top-half finish in the Premiership.Shaughnessy told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “We’ve got a really good squad here.

We probably have 16 players who are first 11 players, so whoever plays the rest have to just get behind them.“That’s what it’s been like for me for the last five months.

You just have to get behind the lads and they’ve been doing really well.“I can’t say anything. I can’t go and say I should be playing, I’ve just made sure I’ve been training away and ready to be called upon and that’s been the case in the last few weeks.