ST MIRREN manager Jim Goodwin is determined to rewrite the history books next season...after admitting the current campaign can’t be viewed as a successful chapter.

The Buddies reached two cup semi-finals in the same season for the first time since Rikki McFarlane’s team visited Hampden twice back in 1981/82.

They have also beaten both halves of the Old Firm in the same campaign for the first time in 31 years, after dumping Rangers out of the Betfred Cup and then stunning Celtic in a league match at Parkhead.

But having failed to nail down a top-six slot before suffering Hampden heartache for the second time in four months in Sunday’s Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of St Johnstone, Goodwin is disappointed he was not able to provide the happy ending the Paisley faithful were longing for.

He said: “Every season is about making progress. We got to a quarter-final of a cup last year and, this year, we’ve got to two semi-finals. It’s over 30 years since we’ve done that.

“We beat Rangers in the quarter-final of the League Cup, we won at Parkhead for the first time in 30-odd years, so we’ve done a lot this season that we haven’t done for decades.

“When the dust settles, we’ll probably look back on the season and think it was a good one but I wouldn’t say it was a hugely-successful one.”

Goodwin admits he set the bar “really high” this season and was desperate to secure a place in the Scottish Cup Final, having been defeated 1-0 by Livingston in the last four of the Betfred Cup.

However, it is St Johnstone who will line up against Hibs in the Hampden showpiece on May 22 after sub Glenn Middleton inspired them to a 2-1 victory against the Buddies.

Middleton set up Chris Kane for a 72nd-minute opener and curled home a powerful free-kick two minutes later.

Conor McCarthy pulled one back in the 86th minute but it was too little, too late.

It means the Buddies will now focus their efforts on securing seventh place in the league table, as they host Dundee United on Sunday following a draw with Kilmarnock on Wednesday. 

Goodwin said: “We were quite open and honest with our own supporters and the media that we wanted top six. We came up short, unfortunately, but we’ll learn from that next season and hopefully go that bit further.”