Scottish Premiership sack race: Next manager to face axe after Wilfried Nancy becomes clear after outburst
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson could be the next manager relieved of his duties in the Scottish Premiership after a surprising outburst aimed at his players on Wednesday night.
The last Premiership manager to lose his job was Wilfried Nancy, as his ill-fated month-long spell at Celtic came to an end on 5 January.
Nancy’s third game in charge last month saw Celtic beaten 3-1 by St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final, as the Buddies won their fifth major honour ever at Hampden Park.
Stephen Robinson‘s side were flying high at that point, but their form has taken a real dip ever since, and they are currently embroiled in a relegation battle as it stands.
St Mirren were beaten 2-0 by league leaders Hearts on Wednesday to extend their losing run to four consecutive games, with Robinson clearly under real pressure to turn things around after a public dressing down of his players.
Robinson’s job looks under threat after his outburst following Hearts defeat
Robinson was appointed as St Mirren manager in February 2022, and he has led them to top-half finishes in each of the last three Premiership seasons, as they qualified to play in the Conference League last term.
They started this campaign in relatively strong form, with one loss from their first six league matches, but have since suffered 10 defeats and won just twice in their last 15 Premiership outings.
St Mirren’s cup triumph in December was one of the biggest moments in their history, but just over a month on and Robinson is facing doubts around his future in charge.
They have not won any of their last five games, and have now lost four in a row following a 2-0 loss to Hearts, after which the 51-year-old brutally called out his players’ poor recent performances to the media.
Robinson said: “Are they starting to believe the hype and the publicity after the cup win, thinking they’re possibly a little bit better than they are and they don’t need to work as hard? Perhaps.
“How you train is how you play and some people haven’t trained properly. Some people have moped about a little bit because they weren’t in the team, have come in and played like that.
“We’re 100% in a relegation battle,” he continued. “I hear big and physical about us all the time, which is laughable. We’re big, really big. But physical? No, Hearts are physical.
“I’ve been very, very gentle on them because we’re so limited in numbers and you’re asking boys to go again. But there was home truths tonight and I’m expecting a reaction.”
“Sometimes players make you look stupid and certainly they made me look stupid tonight.”
Robinson could soon be sacked before David Martindale or Jim Goodwin
Robinson’s new outburst proves that he knows he is under pressure at the SMISA Stadium right now, and he needs their next few favourable fixtures against Livingston, Dundee United and Dundee FC to go his way.
The 51-year-old could be out of a job if they do not, with other Premiership managers like Martindale and Goodwin both also under pressure as it stands.
Livingston boss Martindale is facing doubts around his position in charge, with the club currently sat bottom of the top flight after picking up just one win all season so far.
Their performances have improved in recent weeks, however, and his long-term status as boss means he is set to be backed as the campaign goes on, even if they are close to relegation.
Dundee United manager Goodwin is also under pressure, with his side having won just five of their 22 league matches so far in 2025-26.
He also has credit in the bank with their owners, however, after leading the Tannadice club to promotion in 2024 and an impressive fourth-placed finish in the Premiership last season.
All three bosses could soon be relieved of their duties, but as it stands, Robinson seems the most likely to go next.