BLISS FAMILY ROBINSON

St Mirren boss takes to the hills with partner Robyn and dog Alfie on weekly basis and finds some peace of mind by switching off from football pressures

THE secrets behind St Mirren’s stunning defeat of Celtic can doubtless be credited to some shrewd Stephen Robinson plotting at his tactical bolthole in Ralston on the outskirts of Paisley. Yet one of his keys to success these days lies not in the tireless training centre studies in front of the computer or whiteboard.

It has taken the 45-year-old an age to figure out. But Robinson has resolved that the brief time he spends NOT grafting is essential to enhancing his quality of life and the quality of his work.

Teaching himself to relax more has been central to contentment and, therefore, to his seeing clearly when immersed in his craft.

For that, the ex-Motherwell manager has partner Robyn and their cocker spaniel Alfie to thank.

The 2-0 defeat of the champions and celebratory scenes at the SMiSA Stadium were most unusual for a Sunday in Robinson’s new world.

For a while, he’s resisted the temptation to feast on football that day, in the knowledge it inextricably leads to Scottish highlights and critical comment on his own team’s game.

It was, too often, an unhealthy habit. Instead, he, Robyn and Alfie now go hill-walking and the type of escapism he once thought was never for him.

Robinson explained: ‘I listened to a podcast with Derby manager Paul Warne where he said that, when you win, there’s a sense of relief rather than joy.

‘And when you lose, you blame yourself and it’s a state of depression for 48 hours.

‘I couldn’t have described it any better. We changed our routine of going out for dinner from a Saturday to a Thursday because you avoid maybe having that disappointment over dinner.

‘But you really have to break that cycle. It’s about finding a balance, a way to actually start living your life at the same time. It’s taken me a long time to get to that point.’

A day off is no longer exclusively spent poring over the previous day’s mishaps or agitating over how to springboard from a good result with challenging fixtures looming.

‘Robyn is really into hill-walking, Alfie and I often don’t get much choice,’ he revealed. ‘Whether the weather’s good or bad, we climb up the hills and Munros. I don’t even know the names of half of them but we’ve done lots, including Ben Lomond and The Cobbler.

‘We’re not Munro baggers, we just drive around until finding somewhere promising where we can park. We often go to Killin and spend five or six hours going up and down these hills.

‘The dog usually sprints up them ten times, which is three times more than us! Alfie has boundless energy: it’s mental. He’s a great dog.

‘He has a 5km walk or run at six every morning and another in the afternoon. We’re lucky enough to live next to big, open fields.

‘Ideally, I want to buy a camper van so we can leave straight after our game on a Saturday. That’s the long-term plan, anyway, so I can get peace and quiet. I find it very helpful, especially mentally.’

A poor Premier Sports Cup campaign and back-to-back defeats to start the Premiership placed Robinson in the early sack race.

That now seems a distant memory. Saints are fourth on the back of three wins in a row over Ross County, Dundee United and Hibs without conceding.

After a loss at St Johnstone, they were rated no-hopers against the Celtic juggernaut but proved huge value for victory.

He savoured the celebrations and why not. It was only two months ago pressure was building and he needed a result for breathing space.

Robinson admits that dynamic makes it tough for him to entirely rid his mind of football even when walking in the middle of nowhere.

‘Okay, I am thinking football most of the time but I’m not speaking about it because it does dominate your life and I try not to let that happen,’ he confessed.

‘But, then, it’s the only job where people place bets on you being sacked. And you’ve pundits calling for your head who actually want you out of work.

‘It’s difficult to switch off completely. I’ve got a mortgage like everyone else and the majority of managers in Scotland don’t earn megabucks which set you up for life.

‘You need to find a way not to think about it, otherwise you’d go absolutely crazy. Robyn keeps me sane. She makes me realise not everyone’s life revolves around football, even though mine does.

‘What most managers don’t realise is how much that affects everyone around you. We all make mistakes, you’ve a family in the background that suffers probably more than me.

‘I took the job knowing the parameters, so there’s no real surprises to me. But my family didn’t buy into all that. I think sometimes it’s very hard on them.

‘It’s easy to get so caught up in it and think it’s only about you. So it’s really important to find time away from all that. I call Alfie our angel sent from heaven because dogs love you the same whether we’ve won, lost or drawn.

‘Going away with them on a Sunday allows you to reset. We get away from all that and don’t even speak football.’

Robinson ended 2020 by leaving Motherwell, resignation bringing relief from a horribly intense spell looking for answers that he never unearthed to arrest a form slump.

Yet his previously impressive work in reaching two cup finals in 2017/18 and third place in 2019/20 reads well.

He’s also bossed Oldham and Morecambe but the Scottish football climate seems to suit.

‘I spoke to Graham Alexander after he left Motherwell and he said that scrutiny that’s on you in Scotland really surprised him,’ said Robinson.

‘That’s someone who played in the Premier League and for Scotland. It really is the No 1 sport in this country. It’s obsessive. Graham was at Fleetwood, I was at Morecambe, a similar area of the country where one Press guy turns up.

‘I remember Simon Grayson at Fleetwood saying if you win you don’t get much publicity, if you lose you don’t get much publicity so you actually enjoy your coaching, your life.

‘Whereas here, being the main league, a small league, you’re playing against huge institutions like Rangers and Celtic.

‘If you beat them or cause any kind of shock, you’re recognised anywhere. It’s intense, it’s a goldfish bowl, it’s hard to get out of it.

‘Sometimes it’s nice to be normal, put a baseball cap on and walk up mountains.’