EX-IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Jim Goodwin hopes St Mirren can ease their Covid burdens by cashing in on their shock Betfred Cup win over Rangers.

The Buddies boss has hailed the financial boost given to the Paisley outfit by his players after watching them stun Steven Gerrard’s previously unbeaten side to seal a place in next month’s semi-finals.

The winners of this year’s competition stand to pocket a record £300,000, while there will also be increased amounts for the runners-up and the teams making the last four.

And Goodwin says that windfall will come at the perfect time as Saints battle the effects of the global pandemic.

He said: “Financially it will give everybody a great boost.

The players – like many teams across the country – have waived the right to any bonus.

“But I think there might be a queue outside our chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick’s door because I’m sure the boys would like something for their efforts on Wednesday night.

“Look, this is massive because the revenue just hasn’t been there for anybody this year and cup runs are vital.

It’s something I spoke about since day one when I came into the job. We want to make ourselves genuine top-six contenders and we want to get into the habit of making the latter stages of the cups.

“Thankfully this year we’ve given ourselves a real fighting chance in everything really.”

The 3-2 win – sealed by Irish defender Conor McCarthy’s stoppage-time winner – has teed-up a Hampden clash with Livingston over the weekend of January 23/24.

Goodwin was part of the last Saints side to go all the way to the National Stadium back in 2013 when he led Danny Lennon’s team up the steps to lift the trophy after beating Hearts in the final.

The memories of that day remain as sweet as ever for the Irishman and he would love for his players to sample something similar.

He said: “I can remember 2013 like it was only last year.

“It was the best day of my career without a doubt. I can only imagine what that feels like as manager.

We don’t want to get to carried away with ourselves. I’ve said to the boys that we’ve managed to put out two big teams in Aberdeen and Rangers – but there’s no point in doing that if we don’t believe now that we’re capable of going all the way.

“Livingston are a good side. We’ve beaten them twice this season in the league.

“But listen, all four teams left in the competition will genuinely believe they are capable of winning it.

“We knew there wasn’t going to be an easy draw but we’re delighted with it.

“To be honest, I couldn’t have cared about who we got and Livingston will be a tough, tough game. But this is a great opportunity for us to get to a final.”