St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson confirmed that Charles Dunne will miss the start of the cinch Premiership season, but the defender's injury isn't as bad as first feared. 

The 30-year-old defender limped off with a calf injury on Tuesday's night's 1-0 win over Cowdenbeath. A scan this week revealed that Charles will be out of action for around about three weeks - a similar time frame to Keanu Baccus who returned to the squad on Tuesday after his own calf injury.

The manager told the press this morning: "He is not as bad as we first feared, we are looking probably about three weeks with Charles."

"It is obviously a blow for us – but not as bad as we thought it was going to be.

He has had a scan, he will be a similar time frame as Keanu (Baccus) so hopefully three weeks and he will be back available again."

It's better news for Greg Kilite who is set to start back training next week after coming off in last weekend's 4-0 win against Arbroath.

The Saints midfield man took a knock on his ankle, but is expected to join back in with the group on Monday. 

Top spot in Group H is up for grabs as Saints host Forfar Athletic at The SMiSA Stadium in Viaplay Cup action. 

St Mirren vs Forfar Athletic
Viaplay Cup
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 29th July 2023
Kick-off: 3pm

The match day officials for Saturday's match against Forfar are as follows:

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie

Match Details

Tickets are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for U12s and are available online HERE.  

Please note that anyone that selected the physical tickets option should collect these from the St Mirren Ticket Office. 

Season tickets are not valid for this match. The match is all ticket and tickets will be on sale (subject to availability) UNTIL KICK-OFF. Tickets are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and online at stmirren.com/matchtickets. 

The fastest and easiest way to buy tickets for the home end is online at stmirren.com/matchtickets.

Forfar Athletic supporters can buy online HERE.

Ticket Office Phone No: (0141) 840-6130
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com

Live Streaming

PPV is available to those in the UK and Ireland for £12. To buy a PPV pass please click HERE.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live as part of their subscription.

Car Parking

Red Zone - South

For hospitality and home disabled supporters (subject to availability). 

To enter/exit Greenhill Road. Hospitality ticket to be shown for entry. 

Black Zone - Southwest 

For Family Stand and Main Stand Patrons. 

To enter/exit via Drums Avenue.  

White Zone - West 

For West Stand Patrons and Pay on the Day. Home disabled supporters in bays behind West Stand. Away disabled supporters in bays behind the dome. 

To enter/exit via Ferguslie Park Avenue.

Visitor Information

Macklin Motors, which has showrooms in Glasgow and Hamilton, has announced a three-year partnership with St Mirren

The partnership will see Macklin Motors, which is opening a new Toyota site in Ayr in early 2024, become a key sponsor of the Club, providing Toyota Hybrid cars for the Manager, Head of Player Recruitment and Commercial Manager. 

As part of the agreement, manager Stephen Robinson will receive the Toyota RAV Hybrid, offering power and versatility. Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy and Head of Player Recruitment, Martin Foyle will be equipped with the Toyota C-HR Hybrid - a cutting-edge vehicle that combines efficiency and style.

In exchange for their support, Macklin Motors will have prominent branding placement on the back of the players’ shirts. Additionally, there will be a significant presence throughout The SMiSA Stadium, including on the team sheets, electronic scoreboard, and advertising boards, further strengthening the relationship between St Mirren, Macklin Motors and its local Toyota retailers.

Campbell Kennedy, Commercial Manager at St Mirren FC, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating: "We are delighted to welcome Macklin Motors as a key partner of St Mirren FC.

The support from the Macklin Motors Toyota is testament to our shared values of excellence and environmental responsibility.

"We look forward to working closely with Macklin Motors Toyota and are excited to have their branding prominently featured around the SMiSA Stadium, showcasing our partnership to our loyal fans."

Nicholas Jones, Toyota Fleet Sales Manager at Macklin Motors, said: "We are thrilled to join forces with St Mirren Football Club as a key partner for the next three years.

"This collaboration allows us to showcase our commitment to innovation and sustainability, providing our cutting-edge hybrid vehicles.

"We are excited to support St Mirren FC's journey and contribute to their success on and off the field!"

U12s go free when St Mirren B face Albion Rovers in the First Round of the SPFL Trust Trophy. 

The young Buddies take on the Lowland League side at The SMiSA Stadium on Tuesday 1st August with a 7:30pm kick-off. 

U12s go free and tickets are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and ONLINE. 

Please note only the Main Stand will be open at this match.

BUY NOW

St Mirren B vs Albion Rovers
The SPFL Trust Trophy
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium
Date: Tuesday 1st August 2023
Kick-off: 7:30pm

Ticket Prices

Adults - £10
Concessions* - £5
U12s** - £0

*Over-65, U18s and full-time students. 
**Must be accompanied by an adult

U12s go free when St Mirren B face Albion Rovers in the First Round of the SPFL Trust Trophy. 

The young Buddies take on the Lowland League side at The SMiSA Stadium on Tuesday 1st August with a 7:30pm kick-off. 

U12s go free and tickets are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and ONLINE. 

Please note only the Main Stand will be open at this match.

BUY NOW

St Mirren B vs Albion Rovers
The SPFL Trust Trophy
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium
Date: Tuesday 1st August 2023
Kick-off: 7:30pm

Ticket Prices

Adults - £10
Concessions* - £5
U12s** - £0

*Over-65, U18s and full-time students. 
**Must be accompanied by an adult

St Mirren's Viaplay Cup group stage comes to a close on Saturday with top spot up for grabs. 

Saints go into Saturday's match at The SMiSA Stadium knowing that only a win against Forfar Athletic would secure pole position and a place in the last 16. 

Toyosi Olusanya's 95th minute winner against Cowdenbeath on Tuesday night kept the Buddies in the hunt for top spot, with Stephen Robinson's men sitting on six points. 

Forfar have won all three of their Viaplay Cup games so far and sit atop Group H. Ray McKinnon's side have beaten Cowdenbeath (1-0), Montrose (2-1) and Arbroath (3-1). 

Match Details

St Mirren v Forfar Athletic
Competition: Viaplay Cup
Date: Saturday 29th July 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

Ticket Info

Tickets are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for U12s and are available online HERE.  

Please note that anyone that selected the physical tickets option should collect these from the St Mirren Ticket Office. 

The match will also be streamed live on St Mirren TV for international subscribers and PPV will be available for supporters inside the UK and Ireland. 

Previous 

Saints last faced Forfar way back in 2005 in the Challenge Cup when Alan Reid's extra-time goal gave the Buddies a 1-0 win at Love Street. 

The officials

The referee on Saturday is Matthew MacDermid. He'll be assisted by Ross Macleod and Graham McNeillie. 

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of defender James Bolton on a one-year deal subject to clearance.  

The 28-year-old Englishman joins Saints following the expiry of his contact at English League One champions Plymouth Argyle following Declan Gallagher's move to Dundee United for a conditional fee.

The centre-half, who can play at right-back, began his professional career at Macclesfield Town and had spells at Halifax, Gateshead, Shrewsbury and Portsmouth before joining Argyle in 2021.

Speaking to stmirren.com after signing, James said: "It feels brilliant.

It's all happened quite quick but I'm really excited to be here and excited for the challenge. 

"I had a good discussion with the manager on the phone and he really welcomed me here. I'm just trying to relish the challenge.

"I'll give 100%. I think that something that is has nothing to do with ability and just a willingness to win. On the pitch, I feel like I am quite calm on the ball and will put my head in there. I'm looking forward to it.

"I know St Mirren did well last season finishing top six and it's just about progressing from there and keep pushing on.

"I spoke to Greg Docherty and he loves Scottish football and said the Scottish Premiership is very good and everyone I've spoken to can't speak highly enough of it." 

Manager Stephen Robinson added: "James is a versatile player that I've known from down in England in his time at Shrewsbury, Portsmouth and Plymouth.

He'll bring a vast amount of experience and he's a very good defender.

"He gives us another option in there and adds to our numbers with Declan leaving. This was the reason we allowed this to happen because we knew we had someone else coming in.

"We need to get him up to speed, but he's a fit boy. It's another quality player in the building who will bring more experience into the dressing room and most of all he's a very good defender." 

James Bolton checks in at St Mirren (Image: Allan Picken)

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Declan Gallagher has left the club to join Dundee United for a conditional fee.

The 32-year-old joined St Mirren from Aberdeen last summer and went on to make 32 appearances for the Buddies, scoring once, while also earning himself a call up to the Scotland National side. 

Manager Stephen Robinson said: "Declan had an opportunity arise to move to Dundee United and he’s from Dundee so it’s something that works well for him.

"He hasn’t played as much as he wanted to since the World Cup and we couldn’t guarantee him those minutes.

"I’ve worked with Declan for a long time and I couldn’t deny him the opportunity to move closer to home with his family and the chance to get more game time. Everyone at the club wishes him nothing but good luck.

"We will receive a fee for Declan and have already targeted a replacement that we hope to sign today subject to a medical."

We thank Declan for his contributions to St Mirren and wish him all the best for his future career.

Toyosi Olusanya's 95th minute goal gave St Mirren a dramatic late win at Cowdenbeath and kept the Buddies hopes of topping Group H alive. 

Saints created a host of chances, but couldn't find a way past Cowdenbeath goalkeeper Craig Hepburn until deep into stoppage time when Olusanya followed up on a save from the Blue Brazil stopper and slammed into the net. 

Stav Nahmani was given his first start after scoring a brace on his debut in Saturday's 4-0 win against Arbroath. Stephen Robinson was also able to welcome Keanu Baccus into the starting line-up for his first appearance of the new season, while Richard Taylor came in with Mark O'Hara suspended, Greg Kiltie injured and Olusanya dropped to the bench. 

Saints had controlled the opening half but had little to show for it. Nahmani had a close-range header blocked early into the match before seeing a tame effort held by Hepburn on 28 minutes. 

The manager made two changes at the interval with Alex Greive and Lewis Jamieson introduced in place of Baccus and Nahmani. 

Scott Tanser had a good chance to put us ahead on 52 minutes when the ball fell nicely inside the area, but the defender screwed the effort wide. 

Three minutes later it was Caolan Boyd-Munce who came closest to breaking the deadlock with a powerful drive from distance. Hepburn was down quickly to push away the Northern Irishman's strike. 

The goalkeeper made another good save with 20 minutes remaining to deny Greive. The New Zealand forward was quickest to react to Boyd-Munce's cross, but the Blue Brazil goalkeeper spread himself well to keep it goalless. Five minutes later it was Jamieson who the ball fell for kindly, but he struck straight at the goalkeeper. 

Hepburn - who was named as Cowdenbeath's official man of the match - again foiled Saints with less than five minutes remaining. The Buddies won a free-kick in a good area around 25 yards from goal. Strain curled low towards the right-hand corner, but Hepburn was down well to save.

Cowdenbeath were reduced to 10 men in the final minute when Kevin Smith was given his marching orders after a second yellow card for a foul on Luke Kenny. It looked like it would be Saints' night when another free-kick opportunity for Strain in stoppage time saw the Australian's effort tipped onto the bar with Saints unable to force home the loose ball. 

But the Buddies were able to make the man advantage count when Olusanya's reacted quickest to Hepburn's save from Jamieson's strike to slam into the net and give us three points. 

It sets up Saints up for Saturday's clash against Forfar Athletic at The SMiSA Stadium. The Buddies know a win would be enough to secure top spot and a place in the last 16 of the Viaplay Cup.

Toyosi Olusanya celebrates his winner with Alex Greive (Image: Craig Brown)

Full-Time: Cowdenbeath 0-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser (c), Dunne (Kenny 78), R.Taylor (Olusanya 63), Strain, Baccus (Greive 46), Gogic, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Mandron, Nahmani (Jamieson 46)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Sutherland, Penman, Offord

Cowdenbeath: Hepburn, Walker, Rodden, Jordan, Hill (Duncan 67), McNab, Butterworth (Jack 67), McDonald (Berry 71), MacPherson (Smith 79), Chalmers, Docherty (Tait 79)
Subs Not Used: Blair, Murray

Referee: Ross Hardie
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford

Attendance: 859

SMiSA Season Tickets help push us through 3500 mark | Highest record full season ticket sales at the SMiSA Stadium

Season ticket sales have broken through the 3500 mark with SMiSA’s community season tickets helping us to our highest full season ticket sales since we moved into The SMiSA Stadium in 2009.

SMiSA have taken 20 season tickets for the 2023/24 season that will be used at all home matches for worthwhile community causes. Last season, almost 600 tickets were gifted to groups and charities in and around Renfrewshire as part of SMiSA’s community ticket programme.

It follows record attendances at The SMiSA Stadium last season with more than 120,000 through the gates over the course of 2022/23.  

St Mirren Chief Operating Officer Keith Lasley said: "First and foremost, I would personally like to thank all supporters for their terrific backing of the club.

"We are delighted to have sold more than 3500 season tickets for the upcoming season.

As a fan-owned club, supporters are our lifeblood and it’s fitting that SMiSA’s community tickets are the ones that have helped us pass through this milestone."

SMiSA Treasurer Jim Cumming added: "Last season was the fourth year that SMiSA have ran the community season ticket programme and we are delighted that the members have passed the vote to continue into season 2023/24.

We issued 570 tickets to groups and charities in and around Renfrewshire last season and the feedback we received was always positive. Families were given the opportunity to see their local team, which they previously could not do.

"We introduced St Mirren to groups who previously had no affiliation with our famous club."

2023/24 Season Tickets are still available to purchase ahead of our cinch Premiership season getting underway. Click HERE to buy yours now and join #OurFamily.