St Mirren manager Jack Ross was named the Ladbrokes Championship Manager of the Month yesterday, after picking up 10 points out of 12 in the month of January.
The team have been in fine form over the New Year period, going on a nine game unbeaten run in the league. But The Saints’ gaffer doesn’t fear his team will get ahead of themselves.
It was the second month in a row that the gaffer has picked up the award and he said: "I know people always say ‘how to do you stop players from getting carried away’ or ‘make sure their feet are on the ground’, but what I have here is a group I’ve worked, in the main, with over the last year.
Obviously we’ve had some change in personnel, but a good core of them that have been here.
"The good thing is there has been a consistency in our approach, when we were bottom of the league and now we’re top of the league, we do the same things. We prepare in the same way, we work in the same way.
"The players trust that method of working, so for us going into this period, it’s reassuring for me as a manger that they’ll not look to do anything differently and they know I wont do anything differently.”
Ross is also keeping his own feet on the ground and insists he isn't phased by the prospect of potentially managing in the Premiership next season, if his side are able to hold on to first spot in the Scottish Championship. St Mirren currently sit 14 points ahead of second place club Dundee Utd.
He continued: "I don't really think too much about it, simply because - and I'm not saying you don't ever allow yourself to think further ahead - I just love managing full stop.
I love this job; I loved the job when we were bottom of the league, I love the job now, I loved the job when I was at Alloa. I just really enjoy doing it."
"I enjoy the the challenge of games week in week out. I enjoy the problem solving aspect of it, I enjoy trying to find a way to win games and I enjoying working with my players. If that happens to come with us progressing to a different league, and different challenges, then brilliant. If it doesn't I'll still enjoy it."
Buddievision subscribers can watch the manager's full press conference along with Stephen McGinn's here.
