Gary MacKenzie says he wants to get back and help the side in its relegation battle. 

The 33 year-old defender made a return to action on Monday after 10 months on the sidelines - playing 45 minutes for the St Mirren Reserves in their 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock. 

Gary admitted he is still a bit off but is working hard to get back to playing for the first team.

"It was good to be back out there," he told stmirren.com.

The surfaces haven't been ideal since I have been back training but it was an option to play 45 minutes of a game so I took that up.

"I'm still a bit rusty having been out so long but it was good to get some minutes under my belt and get closer to being back involved. 

"It's difficult. Very little you do at the training ground replicates what you do in a match. Just simple things like timing, distances etc. so that's not really something you can work on and that's why you need games. It's a starting point for me and I'll need a couple more but it was good to be back out there. 

"You're doing your rehab for the ultimate aim of being back out on the pitch, not to just stay in with the physio and be happy just training.

"You want to get a reward for the hard work you've put in to get yourself back available by being back in a competitive match."

With the club sitting bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership, Gary confessed it has been difficult to sit on the sidelines and watch.

But hopes to be available to play his part in the run-in. 

It is tough," he said.

"But that's the first 45 and I'll hopefully get more over the next couple of weeks and then hopefully be back within the squad and available in the next few weeks. 

"When teams are struggling it does make being out more frustrating as you want to help out. Everyone in the stand will feel the same. If you can give that extra few percent to the team it might make a difference.

"From that point of view it has been difficult sitting watching, but there are still enough games and we are not too detached.

"The aim for me is to get back into the fold and to be an option to help the boys.

"It just takes a couple of games to get the rustiness out and get yourself going again. I'll be looking forward to it and it should be an exciting run-in to see what we can do."

The big defender has played an important part at Saints since joining the club in the summer of 2016. 

A miraculous final day escape from relegation to League One in his first season was followed by promotion to the Premiership the season after. 

He said: "Since I have been here there's never really been any point where it has been flat come the end of the season.

"The first season we had to work right till the final whistle of the final game and then last year we won it with a couple of games to go. 

"The most important thing for me is to get back and help the boys and the club hopefully stay in this division."

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Adam Eckersley has signed a pre-contract agreement with Ladbrokes League One side Forfar Athletic.

The 33 year-old full-back joined the Loons on loan from Saints in January until the end of the season. With his St Mirren contract set to expire at the end of the season Adam has put pen to paper with the League One side to continue playing his football at Station Park next season.

Adam joined St Mirren in January 2017 and made 42 appearances in the Black & White, helping the club complete the ‘great escape’ to avoid relegation to League One, before winning the Ladbrokes Championship last season.

We’d like to thank Adam for his contributions and wish him all the best for his future.

We are fortunate to have a very loyal support who travel up and down the country following the team through thick and thin and, as we have previously stated, this is never taken for granted and is much appreciated by everyone connected with St Mirren.

This season the police have been in dialogue with us over some incidents and behaviour that has taken place predominantly at away games. This relates to a very small number of fans, however, it goes without saying that this negatively affects the reputation of the support as a whole.

Amongst other things this has involved the setting off of flares, fireworks and smoke bombs, organising fights with opposition supporters and vandalism of public property. These are very serious allegations and seriously tarnish our club’s reputation.

While the aforementioned are primarily a police issue we are now also seeing instances of this unacceptable behaviour appearing at our home fixtures.

On Saturday a Dundee Utd supporter suffered a serious head injury after the away crowd surged forward after United’s first goal. This is something we have warned our own support against on numerous occasions so hopefully this will make people realise how dangerous this can be.

Given the seriousness of the injury the decision was taken to remove the fan by the quickest means possible which was through the vomitory at W7.

While the unconscious supporter was being removed there were numerous people standing above the vomitory who decided to spit and throw coins at him.

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. We cannot allow the actions of a very small number of fans to ruin the reputation of St Mirren Football Club.

Some of the people responsible were identified but unfortunately the quality of the CCTV footage of the incident is such that at this time we are unable to pursue this to the degree of certainty that would allow prosecution.

If we are able to clearly identify the culprits, regardless of what happens in a legal sense, they will be given a lifetime ban from our stadium.

We would ask anyone with any information or footage of the incident to contact the club on info@stmirren.com.

Any information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Everyone connected with the club fully acknowledges the fantastic contribution the W7 group have made to improving the atmosphere at the stadium. Whilst we want to nurture and support the fans in that area of the stadium we are also duty bound to apply the same rules that cover all other areas of all other stands.

For the avoidance of any doubt antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated in ANY area of our stadium.

There has been much comment on social media over the weekend regarding all of the above but that is not the place we should be having these conversations especially when people are not aware of all the facts and individuals can twist the truth without the risk of being held accountable for their words.

As a result of this ongoing situation we have asked local MSP George Adam to arrange a meeting with the police, the club and relevant fan groups to try and find a sensible way forward to get us all pulling in the same direction once more.

A gallery of pictures from the Westmarch Suite following our match against Dundee United in the William Hill Scottish Cup on Saturday.

Thanks to our match sponsor Consilium Contracting Services for their support.

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

Please join us on Friday 24th May 2018, at the Normandy Hotel, Renfrew for the club's prestigious Awards Dinner kindly sponsored once again by Walker Laird Solicitors & Estate Agents.

Spend an evening in the company of the St Mirren first team, management and coaching staff at what is Renfrewshire’s premier social gathering.

Prepare to laugh the night away thanks to former Motherwell and, yes, Morton winger John Gahagan - undoubtedly the best after dinner speaker in Scotland.

Keeping everyone in line will be our MC for the evening, journalist, Foxbar boy and fellow Buddie, Bill Leckie.

The evening will also see three inductees into the club's 'Hall of Fame' with the first being Willie Telfer. With 505 appearances in the famous stripes until his departure in 1957, Telfer is a worthy addition to a illustrious membership.

The evening will consist of:

• Three Course Meal served with tea and coffee
• St.Mirren Player of the Year Awards 2018/19
• Young Player of the Year Awards 2018/19
• Official Web-Site Player of the Year Award 2018/19
• Black & White Magazine Player of the Year Award 2018/19
• Fans Council Player of the Year 2018/19
• Goal of the Season Award 2018/19
• Inductee’s into the clubs “Hall of Fame”
• Every guest will also receive a special souvenir event brochure and special corporate gift to commemorate the event.
• Raffle
• Grand Auction

Individual places are available at £75 + VAT per person, with a minimum of two places on a shared table basis. Tables are available in multiples of TEN at £750 + VAT or TWELVE at £900 + VAT.

To reserve packages or to enquire about event and awards sponsorship opportunities, please contact Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy on (0141) 840-1337 or email commercial@stmirren.com.

The next home game of the season against Livingston has now been moved from Wednesday 27th February to Saturday 2nd March with a 3pm kick off.

We have a fantastic matchday hospitality package on offer for the game as well as a number of matchday sponsorship packages should you wish to promote your business.

The corporate hospitality details for the match are as follows:

St Mirren v Livingston 
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 2nd March 2018
Kick-off: 3:00pm 

* Arrive 12:30pm.

* Private car parking facility.

* Enter through the exclusive Westmarch Hospitality Suite entrance.

* Hostess table service.

* Three Course meal accompanied by wine.

* Accreditation in the match day magazine.

* Exclusive match day competitions.

* Match day magazine and corporate team sheets.

* Premium Match Ticket (Season tickets are not valid for Scottish Cup Ties)

* Exclusive Q&A with matchday Ambassadors.

* Executive seating in Main Stand.

* Half-time hot and cold snacks served with tea or coffee.

* Post Match presentations by the Match Sponsors' Man of the Match.

* Post Match visit to the lounge by players.

* Inclusive drinks package both pre and post match.*

* Last Orders: 5:30pm.

* Bar Closes: 5:45pm

* Hospitality Concludes: 6:00pm.

Cost per person: £95 + VAT (drinks inclusive)*

Cost per person: £70 + VAT (pay bar)

Children: £40 + VAT

To reserve your package please contact Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy on 0141 840 1337 or email commercial@stmirren.com

To book your place from our e-store please click here.

MENU

Tomato and pesto soup

served with petit pain

*****

Steak & Ale pie served with roast potatoes,

baby carrots and green beans

Penne pasta smothered in sundried tomato, mixed olives & fresh mozzarella 

with garlic ciabatta (Vegetarian)

Chicken burger with chips (Children)

*****

Red velvet chocolate fudge cake 

*****

Freshly brewed Tea & Coffee

*****

St Mirren and Livingston have mutually agreed to switch our Ladbrokes Premiership match to Saturday 2nd March 2019.

The game was due to take place on Wednesday 27th February, but with both sides having a free weekend that week it was agreed to move the game to the Saturday.

This has now been approved by the SPFL. The new fixture details are below.

St Mirren vs Livingston
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 2nd March 2019
Kick-off: 3pm

Tickets for our Ladbrokes Premiership match against Kilmarnock on Monday 11th March are now on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and online.  

The ticket details for the games are as follows:

St Mirren vs Kilmarnock
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Monday 11th March 2019
Kick-off: 7:45pm

Ticket Prices

Main and West Stands

Adult - £22
Concessions - £12
13-17 year-old - £12
12 and under - £6

Adult (Padded Seat) - £24
Concession/Child (Padded Seat) - £14

South Stand

Adult - £22
Concessions - £12
13-17 year-old - £6
12 and under - £3 

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours this week are as follows:

Mon, Feb 11th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Tue, Feb 12th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Wed, Feb 13th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Thu, Feb 14th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Fri, Feb 15th - 10:00am - 2:00pm

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com.

The St Mirren Reserves are in action this afternoon as they face Kilmarnock in the SPFL Reserve League.

The match will take place at the Simple Digital Arena with kick-off at 2pm.

Entry is FREE so come along and show your support.

To find out more about the SPFL Reserve League please click here.

St Mirren were knocked out of the William Hill Scottish Cup after a 2-1 loss at home to Dundee United.

First half goals from Pavol Safranko and Nicky Clark did the damage despite Saints dominating the second 45.

The Buddies created the first opening of the game with Greg Tansey striking from the edge of the area. However, the midfielder's effort was routine for United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist.

United took the lead on 15 minutes as the Saints defence failed to clear their lines follow two great stops from goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky. The Czech stopper blocked Nicky Clark's header and then Safranko's follow-up. But the Buddies could only get it clear as far as the edge of the box where Peter Pawlett had a go. Safranko stuck a toe on it to knock it beyond Hladky and give the visitors an early lead. 

The Tangerines were buoyed by their opener and took a firm grip on the game. Calum Butcher headed over from a corner not long after Safranko almost added his and United's second. Then, on 27 minutes, Hladky and Mateo Muzek did well to deny Pawlett and Ian Harkes from making it 2-0. 

Ex-Saint Cammy Smith had a go on 31 minutes after driving forward, but his long distance effort for easy for Hladky.

It was a first half to forget for Saints and any hopes of hanging on to just a one goal deficit heading into the interval were extinguished when Clark added a second for the visitors right on the stroke of half-time. A long ball over the top caught out the Buddies defence and allowed Clark to get in between Jack Baird and Mihai Popescu and the striker lifted the ball over Hladky to make it 2-0. 

Saints gave themselves it all to do in the second half but started brightly as they looked to find a way back into the match. Oran Kearney had brought on Kyle McAllister and Simeon Jackson in place Greg Tansey and Anders Dreyer. 

McAllister looked sharp and had a go two minutes into the second period only for the shot to be blocked. On 56 minutes the winger then floated a ball into the box for Jackson whose header from a tight angle was clawed away by Siegrist. 

After a positive start, Saints were given a boost when United were reduced to 10 men just after the hour mark. Calum Butcher was given his marching orders after a poor challenge on Ryan Flynn at the centre circle. 

The Buddies almost had a goal back just a minute after the red when Popescu cracked a shot off the underside of the bar that had looked as if it may just had sneaked in. 

Brad Lyons and Jackson had curling attempts from inside the box as Saints desperately tried to find a way back into the match - both sent just wide. 

Then with 13 minutes to go St Mirren had the goal their second half play deserved. Duckens Nazon scored his first for the Buddies with a strike from the edge of the box deflected off the thigh of Pawlett on its way beyond Siegrist.  

Saints had United penned back for the remainder of the match, but try as they may just couldn't fashion the opportunity that would have levelled the scores and taken us to a replay at Tannadice. 

Full Time: St Mirren 1-2 Dundee United

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn (c), Popescu, Baird, Muzek, MacPherson (Erhahon 81), Flynn, Tansey (McAllister 46), Lyons, Dreyer (Jackson 46), Nazon
Subs Not Used: Holmes, Corbu, Mullen

Dundee United: Siegrist, Reynolds, Connolly, Butcher, Robson, Seaman, Harkes, Smith (Sow 63), Pawlett, Safranko, Clark (Gomis 65)
Subs Not Used: Laidlaw, Frans, McMullan, Fyvie, Nesbitt

Referee: William Collum
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Fourth Official: Steven McLean

Attendance: 3,965