BACCUS OUT TO PIP PAL IN EURO RACE

ST MIRREN ace Keanu Baccus hopes he can beat his national team pal Martin Boyle and Hibs to a European slot next term.

- BY FRASER MACKIE

But he'd first love to team up with the winger on the World Cup stage with Australia who have already sealed their place at next summer's Finals in North America.

Boyle was cruelly robbed of a spot at Qatar 2022 by a knee injury suffered against St Mirren just three weeks before the tournament kicked off.

The popular Boyle still played a background role while Baccus helped his country reach the last-16.

"That was a real shame for Martin," said Baccus, who was left out of the Aussie squad for friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia later this month.

"I got a bit of the blame for part of the tackle. It was a bit of a mix-up and I may have pushed him into it.

"He still ended up coming to the Finals but wasn't a playing part of it.

"He was like the 'vibes coach' for us! He kept us laughing.