St Mirren FC’s Annual Accounts for the period ended 30 June 2020 show the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the club, however, due to the prudence and commitment of the board and thanks to the support of our fans over the past number of years, the club remains in a robust position.

A copy of the club’s Annual Accounts can be found at Companies House.

St Mirren's hopes of a cup final place were ended at Hampden this afternoon after a narrow semi-final loss to Livingston.

The Buddies couldn't find a response to Scott Robinson's early effort despite piling on the pressure in the latter stages of the match.

The focus is now solely on the league for Jim Goodwin's men with a trip to Tannadice coming up on Wednesday night. 

It was Livingston who started the match the brighter of the two sides with Jak Alnwick holding efforts from Jon Guthrie and Josh Mullin in the opening minutes.  

The Lions' quick start paid off as they took the lead on nine minutes. A free-kick from the left was met by Efe Ambrose whose initial header crashed off the bar. Robinson was allowed to follow in to nod home the rebound.

Saints never really got going in the first-half with only a long-range drive from Eamonn Brophy that he dragged wide all the Buddies had to show in the first 30 minutes. 

Jim Goodwin's men were denied what appeared to be a stonewall penalty just after the half-hour mark when Nicky Devlin caught Joe Shaughnessy inside the Livingston box, but referee David Munro said no despite the protestations from the Irishman.

Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek had to be alert to clear the danger on 36 minutes when Brandon Mason looked like he'd have the opportunity to get a shot away. 

With five minutes of the first-half remaining, Dylan Connolly managed to break clear but failed to find Brophy inside the box where the forward would surely have levelled.  

After a disappointing opening 45, Saints started with more intent in the second-half with Conor McCarthy looking like he was going to head Saints level six minutes after restart when he rose the highest to meet a Jamie McGrath corner. The header was goal-bound only for Craig Sibbald to be in the right place at the right time to nod clear. Seconds later Connolly almost caught out Stryjek with a cross-cum-shot that the goalkeeper had to flick over. 

Three minutes later it was Brophy's turn to go close for the Buddies, but he headed Cammy MacPherson's free-kick over.

Jim Goodwin made a number of changes heading into the final 20 minutes with Kyle McAllister, Ilkay Durmus and Jon Obika all coming on in as substitutes. 

The latter had a claim for a penalty with 15 remaining when he went down under pressure from Jullien Serrano after a neat bit of skill to break into the box. Instead the referee deemed it simulation and booked the forward. 

McAllister was looking lively and put a nice ball onto Obika's head on 78 minutes only for the striker to nod tamely into the arms of Stryjek. A minute later McAllister sent a dangerous ball across the face of the box, but there were no takers in black and white. 

With time ebbing away Shaughnessy went agonisingly close to find an equaliser to take the game to extra-time. The skipper's header drifted inches by the post after he got himself on the end of a McGrath corner. In the end it wasn't to be Saints day. 

Full-Time: Livingston 1-0 St Mirren

JIM GOODWIN REACTION. 

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy (c), Tait, Connolly (McAllister 57), McGrath, MacPherson (Obika 68), Erhahon, Mason (Durmus 68), Brophy (Dennis 81)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Flynn, Foley, Erwin

Livingston: Stryjek, Devlin, Guthrie, Ambrose, Serrano, Sibbald (Longridge 86), Mullin (Reilly 73), Pittman, Bartley, Holt, Robinson (Fitzwater 82)
Subs Not Used: McCrorie, Kabia, McMillan, Lawson, Forrest, Emmanuel-Thomas

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Fourth Official: Alan Muir

St Mirren Football Club was saddened to hear of the passing of lifelong Saints supporter and season ticket holder Harry McLachlan who sadly passed away last month.

Harry, who had Down's syndrome, defied the odds by living to the age of 73 years old which made him one of the oldest people living in the UK with Down's. He was very well known in Paisley and followed his beloved St Mirren through thick and thin.

Harry was also a keen Boccia player and represented Great Britain at the Special Olympics and was an avid singer often belting out "Oh When The Saints."

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Harry.

Due to the current lockdown restrictions, production of commemorative engraved bricks has been halted until further notice.

Applications for bricks can still be made by email to info@stmirren.com, however, we are unable to confirm when bricks will go into production and be ready to be placed on the wall outside the SMiSA Stadium.

The club will update on stmirren.com when brick production resumes.

St Mirren are on the march to Hampden on Sunday with a place in the Betfred Cup final up for grabs as the Saints take on Livingston. 

The Buddies have had to do it the hard way to qualify for the last four. Jim Goodwin's men topped Group G after coming up against Morton, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Queen's Park before defeating Aberdeen 2-1 in the second-round thanks to goals from Ilkay Durmus and Jamie McGrath.

Saints then became the first, and so far only, team to beat Rangers this season when the two met in December in the quarter-final. Connor Goldson gave the Ibrox side an early lead. But a double from McGrath either side of half-time put St Mirren in front. A dramatic finish saw Steven Davis net a late equaliser for Rangers, only for Conor McCarthy to score the winner for Saints in injury time.

Livingston also topped their Betfred Cup group having won all of their group matches - defeating Edinburgh City, Alloa Athletic, Stenhousemuir and Airdrieonians. The Lions then defeated Ayr United (4-0) and Ross County (2-0) in the following rounds to qualify for this weekend's semi. 

Match Details

Livingston v St Mirren
Competition: Betfred Cup
Date: Sunday 24th January 2021
Kick-off: 4pm
Venue: Hampden Park

How to watch the match

Premier Sports will have live and exclusive coverage of our match within the UK and Ireland. To find out how to sign-up please follow this link.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch on St Mirren TV as part of their subscription.  

Previous

Saints have been victorious in the two meetings against Livingston this season - winning 1-0 on both occasions.

The first came on the opening day of the 2020/21 season with Richard Tait scoring his first St Mirren goal to secure the win.

Jake Doyle-Hayes was the match-winner when the Buddies travelled to Livingston in November. 

Who are the officials?

David Munro is the referee on Sunday and he'll be assisted by David Roome and Drew Kirkland. The fourth official is Alan Muir. 

In a season like no other where fans have given incredible levels of support to the club, Saints supporters have stepped up yet again. 

Following the news from our appeal hearing that the club would have to pay a £10,000 fine to the SPFL, supporters have set up a gofundme page to help raise money to go towards the fine.

St Mirren Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: "The support we receive from our fans never fails to amaze us and on behalf of everyone at St Mirren Football Club we thank them for their generosity in these challenging times."

Premier Sports will have live and exclusive coverage of St Mirren’s Betfred Cup Semi-Final tie against Livingston this Sunday in our quest to win the competition for the first time since 2013.

How to watch on TV in the UK

- Sky customers signing up at www.premiersports.com can watch St Mirren this Sunday on Premier Sports HD on channel 412. New customers can subscribe from just £9.99 per month (6 month minimum term) or £12.99 per month (1 month minimum term) with no connection fee or £120 annually.

Premier Sports customers on Sky will also receive free access to the Premier Player by registering here - https://www.premierplayer.tv/subscribe/existing-customer

- Online (Web, iOS App, Android App): www.premierplayer.tv Premier Player from just £12.99 per month (1 month minimum term) with no connection fee or £99 annually. If using App please set up account first on web browser before downloading the App.

- Virgin customers: Premier Sports channel 551. You can subscribe for £9.99 per month via the provider with no connection fee or minimum contract. Call 0845 840 7777 or set up viewing via box. (Press Home > Apps and Games > All Apps > TV Upgrades.)

Premier Sports offer paid subscription services. Payments for subscriptions to Premier Sports via Sky or the Premier Player streaming service will automatically recur monthly or annually dependent on your chosen package unless notice is given to cancel. The auto-recurring price will be at the standard rate.

Cancelations must be made by phone or email and must include a minimum 5 days’ notice prior to next bill. No cancelations accepted within 48 hours of subscribing. Minimum Subscriptions period is dependant (and matches) your chosen package. Terms and Conditions apply.

For full terms and conditions visit www.premiersports.com

Good Evening Shareholders

In a season like no other, we will be hosting our AGM on Thursday 21st January virtually via ZOOM conferencing.

In advance of the AGM the Board of Directors have drafted a statement for your information.

To help make this AGM as problem free as possible we need your help in a few areas:

If you never received an email directly, after reading the information below please email david.jamieson@stmirren.com in response to points 1 and 2 with regards attendance and questions if you have any.

Days prior to the AGM Meeting

1. If possible, can you reply to this email before Wednesday 20th January by 2.00 pm if you are planning on attending the AGM virtually.
2. If you have a question you wish raised at the AGM, if this could again reply to this email by Wednesday 20th January by 2.00 pm, this will allow us to collate and prepare responses.
3. We will be hosting a test event on Wednesday between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm, if possible could you attend this event to ensure that your connection works.
4. The Meeting room details for the test event will be emailed on Wednesday morning

On the day prior to the meeting

1. The AGM meeting room details will be emailed on Thursday morning.
2. There will be a virtual waiting room in operation where we will verify identity prior to the meeting starting.
3.The waiting room will open at 4.00 pm and close at 7.30 pm to allow the meeting to start promptly.
4. Upon admittance to the meeting all cameras and will be turned off and sound muted.

During the meeting

1. All cameras and sound must remain muted.
2. The Board of Directors will be visible and unmuted.
3. Any questions on the night should be emailed to david.jamieson@stmirren.com, these will be grouped and forwarded to the chair for response.
4. The chat function will be monitored, if you have any technical queries please use this.

We will review all of the areas prior to the meeting and will update everyone of any changes.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The Board of Directors were extremely concerned by the ill-informed and inaccurate headlines that appeared in the Press on 1 December 2020. The following information seeks to clarify the position and is intended to reassure shareholders with regard to the club’s financial strength.

To provide some context, in October we asked our auditors (Azets) to review a number of our business operations. This was part of our strategy to review all operations and enhance governance across the Club. One area which we asked them to consider was the status of a number of staff that we had hitherto classified as self-employed. Azets prepared a report for the Board which was received in November and concluded that, on balance, some of our staff ought to be treated as employees who would be subject to PAYE. The report makes it clear that the question of whether or not someone is self-employed or employed is a complex one in any business. In our case there are a number of factors which point either way.

Following on from this report, and in an attempt to gain clarity, we decided to self-refer the matter to HMRC for their view. HMRC were contacted by telephone on Friday 20 November and have since confirmed verbally that we should make the necessary changes to the status of the relevant employees going forward. Action is underway to make these changes. We have acted on a proactive basis and co-operated fully with HMRC.

Understandably we wanted to have their definitive view on this before we held the AGM.

The Azets report also highlighted a number of risks within the Club’s operations. It was decided to engage an independent firm of Accountants to check that none of these risks had resulted in loss. We appointed Gerber Landa & Gee (GLG), a firm highly experienced in professional football club finances, and are delighted to confirm that no evidence of any loss was found. GLG have further confirmed that the changes in process implemented should ensure that the risks previously highlighted have been addressed.

The Board of Directors trusts that the foregoing corrects any misunderstanding caused by ill-informed and inaccurate press reports.

Our Scottish Premiership matches against Motherwell and Hamilton, originally due to take place in October, have been rescheduled. 

The full rescheduled match details are:

Wednesday 17th February 2021
St Mirren v Hamilton Academical
Kick-off: 6pm

Wednesday 24th February 2021
St Mirren v Motherwell
Kick-off: 6pm

Meanwhile, our match against Celtic, which was due to take place at Celtic Park on Saturday 31st October 2020, will now be played on Saturday 30th January with a 3pm kick-off.

Our trip to Dundee United on Wednesday 27th January will now kick-off at 6pm and our home match against Hibernian, originally due to take place on Wednesday 3rd February (7.45pm), has been moved to Tuesday 2nd February (6pm).