By Taylor Murray

Copyright dailyrecord

Former Fir Park chief Jim McMahon told Stephen Robinson he hoped Motherwell’s meeting with St Mirren at Hampden would have been the Premier Sports Cup final. The Buddies and the Steelmen will clash at the national stadium on Saturday, November 1, to determine who will face Celtic or Rangers in December’s final. Saints booked their last-four spot with a penalty shoot-out win over Kilmarnock while ‘Well — who are impressing under new boss Jens Berthel Askou — edged out Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Robinson — who felt cup success had eluded him since arriving in Paisley — has enjoyed previous knockout competition success as a manager when he led ‘Well to the finals of both the Scottish and League cups in the 2017-18 campaign. But he will be hoping to disappoint his old club next month. He said: “The old chairman Jim McMahon texted me [and said] we were hoping that would be the final. “It wasn’t to be [winning a cup at Motherwell]. I have a lot of good feelings towards Motherwell where Alan Burrows and Jim treated me and my family very well. “We had nothing but good memories. We look forward to that occasion and it should be a really good game and a really good day. But occasions are really only good when you win. Our focus right now is our league games again.” Next month’s tie will be the first time the black-and-white army have graced the front steps of Hampden since 2013 when the Buddies beat Hearts 3-2 in the League Cup final. Saints made it to the semis of both the Scottish and League cups in 2021 – losing to St Johnstone and Livingston, respectively – but fans were locked out because of the impact of covid. Robbo knows Paisley will turn out in big numbers for the trip to Mount Florida with a place in a national cup final up for grabs. He said: “People say, ‘why were you all celebrating like that?’ Well, the fans never got to see it the last time. You sometimes wait a lifetime to get to these occasions and you don’t get the chance to see it due to unforeseen circumstances. “So, I’m delighted for them. They’ve followed us through thick and thin. Our away support has been incredible and the home crowds are growing and growing. “We took 2,500 down to Killie and, at the start here, we were just about getting over 3,000 at home. That’s testament to the group of players that the local community and fans have bought into them as individuals and a team. “To give them that day out and hopefully a good result will be massive for everyone.” Don’t miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – you can sign up to our free daily newsletter here