BY Kyle Gunn 

ST MIRREN boss Oran Kearney says he remains confident in the job he’s doing, mostly because he’s done the majority of it before.

Kearney is still hunting for his first victory in charge in Paisley and currently is enduring a run of seven successive league defeats.

But when he considers the similarities of the situation to at the start of his Coleraine tenure, he still feels he can turn it round.

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He said: "I know where Coleraine started from. I took over when they were 11th in a league of 12. We had runs like this and I have been through it all.

"When you have had tough times in the past, it gives you a huge appreciation of when times are good.

"The good times at Coleraine were brilliant but you would always have recognition of what it took and where it began. That's the key for me. You sometimes have to go through cycles like this to get to where you want to be.”

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Skipper McGinn will miss the crucial match 

Kearney also confirmed he would be without skipper Stephen McGinn for this weekend’s crunch clash with bottom side Dundee, a game with only one point separating the two teams.

He continued: “He has had a bit of treatment this week and trained yesterday.

“It is a very hard one to call at this point in time.

"Stephen, particularly in the home matches, he has had some big performances this season and he's an important player from that point of view.

"Ideally, you want your best team on the pitch. But we are in the quandary where, if you risk him and something goes wrong then you possibly run the risk of putting him out for a longer period of time.

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"With an international break coming up it is therefore a double edged sword.

“You could call it a six pointer. When the two teams are together like we are and the predicament we are in, it’s easy to call it that and why not.

"I’m happy for my players to get at it as we need to raise the bar so if that’s a mindset which will bring even more motivation then good.”