Former Irish League manager: I appointed Stephen Robinson at Lisburn Distillery - it's crazy Premiership clubs rejected him
The fact Stephen Robinson has gone on to forge a successful career in management comes as no surprise to John Cunningham, who appointed the current St Mirren chief as assistant at Lisburn Distillery and insists he “was always a banker”.
Robinson has created history at the Paisley club, masterminding three consecutive top-half Premiership finishes and their European return, but his greatest moment of all came on Sunday as the Buddies lifted the Premier Sports Cup after beating Celtic at Hampden Park.
The former Northern Ireland international got his first taste for senior coaching at local club Distillery in January 2012 with Cunningham on the hunt for a new number two following Glenn Ferguson’s departure to become Ballymena United manager.
Cunningham had previously came across Robinson during his involvement in golf events hosted by Maiden City and during the latter’s work for the Irish FA, but it immediately became clear just how talented he was.
"Robbo was keen to get involved with senior football and it was ideal for us,” reflects Cunningham. “He was very creative, a great coach, players loved him and we worked well together.
"He was very professional and a brilliant, enthusiastic coach. His playing career across the water helped and his experience was great for the club.
"One thing about Robbo is he's very detailed and organised. He has a bit of humour and personality and that was ideal for me.
"He has the professional background from playing in England...he has great knowledge and he's a great learner. That was very important when he was going into coaching.
"He had a great way with people at Distillery and it doesn't surprise me at all he has went on to be successful. He was very keen to do well.
"The other thing is you have to get an opportunity and he created that for himself. He got into coaching positions and it's great to see someone you worked with doing so well."
Robinson was in the running for Ballymena’s vacancy which was ultimately filled by Irish League legend Ferguson, while reports from the time suggest he also showed interest in becoming Glenavon manager – he didn’t get that position either.
Since those rejections, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has went on to secure jobs in England, Scotland and was part of Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland backroom staff at Euro 2016.
It still shocks Cunningham that Robinson couldn’t land a top job in Irish League football given his potential, and feels boards remain reluctant to take a chance on promising young managers.
"He tried to get some jobs in the Irish League and people turned him down, which was crazy,” he added. “He was a young creative coach and he had a great upbringing in the pro game.
"Robbo was a banker for me. If I was at an Irish League club at that time, there would have been no problem putting him in as manager because he would have had no problem whatsoever managing an Irish League club.
"Sometimes people can do presentations, write sessions out and that type of thing, but Robbo was very good on the field and could back it all up.
“It doesn't surprise me that he went on to have this success. He knows the Scottish scene well now and has worked in England too. I love to see boys from here doing well because it's not an easy game to be in.
"It doesn't matter what age you are for me, what's important is what you do on the pitch and how you do it. The problem back here is there's too many people pigeon-holed...there's the same managers getting jobs and people think nobody else is capable of doing the job.
"There's loads of people who can work in football in Northern Ireland, thousands of them, I see them all the time around the country. Clubs seem to stick to the same five or six people.”
Robinson has amassed six years of experience in Scotland’s top-flight having previously served as Motherwell manager and is now achieving an unprecedented level of success at St Mirren.
While powerhouses Celtic and Rangers have struggled with new bosses appointed at both, Robinson wasn’t considered for either post – but Cunningham feels he’d be more than capable of taking on a top job.
"He has been in Scotland for a period of time and done really well,” he said. “He doesn’t have the budget the big clubs have but has competed really well and put St Mirren in great positions.
"Robbo has done the business and I hope he can move onto bigger jobs. He’s not getting chances through luck – it’s through hard work.
"You get found out if you’re not good enough, but he has proven he’s more than good enough to do those types of jobs. There’s no reason why he can’t go on and get a bigger job too. You look at Celtic, they’ve brought someone new in and it has been a shambles.”