St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson has stated he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding Malik Dijksteel's absence from Cork City's match against Sligo Rovers on Friday. The Scottish Premiership club recently announced an agreement to sign the 24-year-old Dutch winger upon the expiration of his contract with the League of Ireland club in January.
Following Cork City's 3-2 defeat to Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division, Cork manager Gerard Nash claimed that Dijksteel requested not to play. "St Mirren made a bid to take him in this window, but that was rejected by the club," Nash said. "Unfortunately, since then, Malik's agent made it clear that he was unavailable for this match for personal reasons."
After St Mirren's 2-1 victory over Ayr United, which secured them a home fixture against Heart of Midlothian in the second round of the Premier Sports Cup, Robinson was questioned about the situation with Dijksteel. "I'm not so sure he did make himself unavailable, I have no idea," Robinson commented. "I'm sure, if he's under contract, he's available to play. I've not had any contact in that area; that's not my role."
"Malik's a Cork player until the end of their season, so that’ll be up to others to discuss. It’s certainly not within my remit to take players before their time. We'd love to have him, of course, but an agreement between the two football clubs is necessary," Robinson added.
Robinson, who debuted goalkeeper Shamal George against Ayr, is keen to strengthen his squad further but acknowledged, "Maybe we have to move one, maybe two, on before that happens."
He expressed satisfaction with Killian Phillips, who scored his second double in as many games, but remains cautious about interest from other clubs in the recently-capped Republic of Ireland midfielder. "If he keeps scoring goals, it's a real concern for us, but a good concern," Robinson said of the 23-year-old, who joined permanently this summer after a successful loan from Crystal Palace. "He's continued on where he left off last season with his form and his energy. He's a driving force in the team."
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