The ‘irreplaceable’ man behind St Mirren’s recruitment success

Finding “gems” is the speciality of St Mirren head of recruitment Martin Foyle, whose latest batch has already made a sparkling impact this season.

New defensive signings Shaun Rooney and Alex Iacovitti both netted in the 4-1 rout of Valur that took the Buddies into the Europa Conference League third qualifying round.

Then on Saturday, Roland Idowu, the 22-year-old midfielder on loan from Shrewsbury, struck first in the Premiership opener against Hibs before fellow new boy Oisin Smyth came off the bench to net a double in the impressive 3-0 win, both goals set up by James Scott, signed from Exeter after a previous loan spell.

The club’s impressive recruitment has put the spotlight on Foyle, with manager Stephen Robinson hailing the 61-year-old Englishman as “irreplaceable”.

Robinson, who also worked with the former York, Northwich and Hereford boss Foyle at Motherwell and Morecambe, said: “A lot of people don’t notice the work that he does.

“I’ve been working with Martin for a long, long time. He is irreplaceable. He finds me gems from his network of contacts all around the world.

“We shouldn’t get first refusal on a lot of players but because of his relationships we do.

“He’s been invaluable for me so he certainly deserves a lot of credit for the boys we have brought in. He throws me some rubbish ones as well by the way!

“Ultimately I have got the final decision on who comes. Martin knows me inside out and knows what I like and he knows I like players who can get around the pitch and can run.

“Then, after that, we mould them and try and create them as a coaching staff into better players.”