Harambee Stars Striker Jonah Ayunga Injury Blow Forces St Mirren Into Urgent Transfer Market Hunt

St Mirren manager Craig McLeish has admitted the club must secure more firepower to avoid a repeat of last season’s gruelling relegation struggles.

The new boss had to endure the anxiety of the play-offs before finally securing the Buddies’ Premiership status.

While Craig McLeish believes his squad possessed quality across the pitch, they desperately lacked a cutting edge upfront, a problem now severely exacerbated by a long-term injury to their key Kenyan international forward.

St Mirren managed to net just 30 goals throughout their entire 38-game league campaign last year. The lack of goals has quickly become McLeish's primary concern heading into the new season, especially with major departures and setbacks thinning out his attacking options.

The Buddies have officially parted ways with forward Mikael Mandron, but the biggest blow comes in the treatment room. Harambee Stars striker Jonah Ayunga is sidelined and expected to be out of action until the turn of the year.

Jonah Ayunga’s physical presence and goalscoring ability for both club and the Kenyan national team leave a massive void in the Saints' frontline.

Without him leading the line for the first half of the season, McLeish has been forced to completely rethink his tactical approach.

"An issue for us last season was that we didn’t score enough goals," McLeish insisted as quoted by the Daily Record.

"It wasn’t because we were a poor team. We just struggled to put the ball in the net. We scored less than a goal a game. That is the bit we need to improve, to be more threatening. St Mirren, in recent seasons, have been defensively aggressive. We can’t lose that, but the bit I need to build on is to bring more at the top end of the pitch."

While Jacob Chapman has arrived from Huddersfield to solve the team's goalkeeping issues, finding a replacement who can replicate Jonah Ayunga's output is proving difficult.

The Paisley side are actively working to bring in at least two new frontmen, but McLeish acknowledged that quality attackers come at a premium that often eludes them.

"We are working at it all the time," the Saints boss explained. "With our budget constraints, there is a lot of work going on. There are a lot of players we have spoken to. We need to take our time with it and make sure we can pick the right ones."

McLeish pointed to the financial disparity in the league as a hurdle they must navigate smartly. "Look at the Hearts squad. I think they have taken 30 players over to Spain with the budget they have to spend. We know we are not at that level.

We have to be really selective on the targets we do pull the trigger on. We know we need to add to the top end of the pitch. We need to add a couple of forwards and those conversations are ongoing. Hopefully, they can progress quite quickly."

To streamline their search, St Mirren have overhauled their recruitment structure, bringing in Gavin Miller from Motherwell to head up operations.

The club has already been active this summer, securing signatures for Chris Mochrie, Jacob Chapman, and Ryan Carr. However, landing the definitive goalscorer to hold the fort until Ayunga returns remains the ultimate goal.

"Gavin Miller was out with us in Spain," McLeish stated. "The number of conversations we are having is great. It is so good to have him with us so we can spend time together. We are talking to players, agents, and clubs all the time. There is a lot happening and it is about pulling the trigger on the right ones. They need to be ones who can come in and improve our starting XI."

While the search continues, McLeish is also keeping an eye on the future, managing a talented crop of academy graduates and weighing up decisions on several recent trialists.

"We have a really good group of young players coming through," McLeish added. "We know we can’t just throw them in. We need to wait until the right time and protect their pathways as well."