New signing is loving life in Paisley after his move from Sheffield United and can’t wait to get stuck into Russell Martin’s side.(Image: SNS Group)

Miguel Freckleton knows he can lean on advice from an ex-Rangers midfielder as he looks to add to the Ibrox side’s woes this afternoon.

The St Mirren new boy is getting to grips with the Scottish game after his move north of the border from Sheffield United. And he has revealed how Blades loans boss Kenny Black is still helping him through his early days in Paisley even though he’s now cut all ties with the Brammall Lane club.

Black broke through as a young player under John Greig at Rangers four decades ago and spent two seasons in the first team before moving on to Motherwell, Hearts, Portsmouth and Airdrie.

Freckleton says the 61-year-old is still acting as a mentor to top up the knowledge he’s gleaning from Saints boss Stephen Robinson.

Now he’s desperate to put the boot into the club where Black and his fellow ex-Sheffield United assistant Stuart McCall plied their trade in their playing days.

The big defender said: “Yeah, I had Stuart McCall as assistant manager and Kenny Black as well at Sheffield United.

“I was quite close with Kenny, I still speak to him now. He gives me the rundown on teams before my games and stuff.

“He is the loans manager at Sheffield United, and obviously I was going on loan quite a lot, so me and him would just talk every other week.

“He’s been quite good to me. He persuaded me to come here, to be honest. He told me about St Mirren towards the end of last season and how they were interested.

“I’ve not seen any footage of him playing but I know he managed up here and was Stuart McCall’s assistant at Motherwell. He’s a good guy.

“Sunday will be a tough game. I know they haven’t done too well recently, we’re looking to try and beat them. But we know they’re a good side so it’s not going to be easy.”

Freckleton was convinced to snub interest in England and make the switch to Paisley after a chat with Robinson last month.

The boss singled the 23-year-old out for praise in his second appearance as the Buddies beat Hearts on penalties in last week’s Premier Sports Cup clash.

And Freckleton knows live games like this afternoon’s clash with Russell Martin’s side bring a level of exposure he wasn’t used to on loan at Swindon Town last season and Chesterfield and Yeovil before that.

He said: “That’s a big thing coming to this league, you get exposure. It’s top division. You’ve got Rangers and Celtic in it and I’m excited for it.

“I had offers elsewhere in England, but I spoke to the manager over the phone, we had a good 30 minute chat, and he just persuaded me.

“He’s a good manager. It’s hard to explain what he does, he just subtly enforces his way onto you.

“He’s a motivator but he’s also a tactical manager. He knows what he’s talking about.

“Quietly he gives me confidence and that’s what you want in a manager, especially when you’re a young player coming somewhere new.”

It’s been a rapid rise from the English county leagues with Mangotsfield United to the Scottish Premiership in the space of just four years for Freckleton, who enjoyed playing under madcap Ian Holloway at Swindon last season.

But he said: “When I was playing at Mangotsfield, I was just trying to get games. It developed me much more than people around my age.

“I had good people around me who knew if I fulfilled what I needed to in that league, then you can get more people looking at you now.

“Playing for Ian Holloway was a rollercoaster. Good team talks. Hour-long team talks!

“He’d be in the hallway, he’d have little cones out and he’d be running around himself. We’d just be standing there, watching him running around, he’s just mental!

“But he’s a good manager. He motivated me.

“He was out of a job for a while, so he came back in with loads of ideas, and it was a lot to take in at first. But after a while, he settled down and we kicked on towards the end of the season.”