The St Mirren airdome has been brought down temporarily due to adverse weather conditions. 

Repairs will be carried out on the dome to get it fully operational in due course.

Anyone with dome bookings is advised to contact info@stmirren.com for enquiries and updates.

St Mirren Football Club apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Please note that football centres at Ralston Primary School are OFF tonight due to adverse weather conditions and severe weather warnings.

St Mirren in the community apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Gus MacPherson has re-joined the club as our new Technical Director.

Gus first joined Saints in 2003 as player/assistant manager before taking over as manager later that year following John Coughlin’s departure.

Gus was in charge of The Buddies for over six years – leading Saints to promotion in 2006.

St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott said: "Over the past few months we have learned lessons regarding the structure we have in place and decided that we want to have someone within the football department who will be a constant presence going forward.

"The board have a vision of how they want the club to develop. At present we have a plan but not the man power to define and execute it.

"Gus is someone I worked with closely when I was on the board previously and he has the experience and knowledge we are looking for in the newly created role.

"Gus, in his role of technical director, will support both Tony Fitzpatrick and Oran Kearney in whatever manner they require for the club to progress and evolve."

I hope you all enjoyed the energy and passion that the team showed on Friday night as much as I did. Oran has been a breath of fresh air around the place since he arrived and I sense positivity beginning to grow around the club again.

It’s been a very difficult start to the season, and difficult decisions had to be made, but my fellow directors and I will never shirk away from our responsibilities. You can trust that every decision we make, affecting both on and off field issues, will always be taken with the best interests of the football club at heart.

Your support through your subscriptions to SMiSA, buying season tickets and merchandise and coming along to games in large numbers have given us the financial stability that allows us to make decisions that in the past may have been impossible due to budget restrictions.

We have been on an amazing journey over the last couple of years and we have all worked together to bring us to where we are right now. There’s no doubt that without that togetherness we would not have escaped relegation to League 1, nor would we have been so strong in leading from the front for virtually all of last season.

When we all work together and pull in the same direction we have a proven track record of success and that is something we must continue to do if we are to continue our forward trajectory and establish ourselves again in the top flight.

The atmosphere and home support on Friday night was superb and talking to Stephen McGinn after the game he commented that there were three or four times in the last 10 minutes where the crowd response gave the players a second, third and fourth wind.

That level of support going forward will be vital to the team. Oran himself pointed this out in his post-match interview. The players feed off the energy in the stands.

As usual the atmosphere was heavily influenced by the buddies congregated in W7 who, along with fellow supporters in the West and Main stands, created superb energy which the players responded to.

This atmosphere of positivity was however soured by the production of a banner in W7 which greatly disappointed me. On an evening where we should have been welcoming our new manager and a new era, instead we saw a negative message being displayed.

In the lead up to the game the group in W7 had asked us for permission to display the banner in question which we refused on grounds that the message it carried was absolutely nothing to do with the team, the manager or the club.

I’ve mentioned in my columns before that we have a very good working relationship with the police, which has been built up over many years.

It’s something we work very hard to maintain as it saves us tens of thousands of pounds a year in police free games. We cannot, and will not, risk that relationship being soured for the sake of political point scoring at our stadium.

Having already given clear pre-match advice that the banner was not permitted inside the stadium we had absolutely no option but to instruct the stewards to remove it when it then appeared in W7.

Many fans will have been unaware that this pre-match discussion had taken place.

I’ve seen plenty of social media comments criticising us for the removal of the banner, however we have to create rules, and adhere to those rules, otherwise chaos wins and we revert back to a heavy police presence at all home games and a bill to match.

That’s not something that any level headed St.Mirren fan wants to see as we continue to grow the family friendly experience at the Simple Digital Arena.

As I said in my opening paragraphs, we are far stronger when we all work together and there is no value at all in the W7 group and the club having a negative relationship.

In order to work together we must have trust. It takes a long time to build trust, but it can very quickly be broken.

We absolutely want to work together with the group to ensure that the W7 section continues to grow and to support the club and the team, but this must be done within the overall framework that the football club has to operate within which is governed by our own Safety Officers, the local Council and Police Scotland.

With communication, and a willingness to work together there is no reason why we can’t continue to grow the group and continue the positive impact they have had around the stadium but this is very much a two way street.

The group itself needs to appreciate the pressures that exist around the club and work with us rather than against us. Sometimes we will make unpopular decisions, but as I have already said, those decisions will be taken with the very best interests of the club at heart. We cannot and will not allow individuals to ignore the rules that every other supporter follows.

Each and every supporter who follows our club home or away is an ambassador of St.Mirren FC. Going forward I’d like to see the fans continue to self-police as we have done so successfully over many years.

It should also be a given in this modern age that supporters behaviour online can also reflect on the football club. When erroneous messages are given out they can be shared quickly and it can cause a wave of negativity that is sometimes hard to stop. While we cannot limit free speech we will not accept the individual victimisation of club staff who carry out their work for the benefit of our football club so our intention is to amend our policies to include online abuse of club staff within our unacceptable conduct rules.

We will seek to engage again with the W7 group and hope we can continue to work together going forward but this unfortunate episode has eroded some of our trust and has cast a cloud over what was a very positive night for the club.

Let’s get back to working together to create a positive atmosphere around the club that will help fuel more success going forward.

See you all at Hamilton.

#COYS

Please note that football centres at Gryffe High School and the St Mirren Airdome are OFF on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd September, respectively, due to the September weekend.

St Mirren in the Community apologise for any inconvenience caused.

For further information about community football centres and St Mirren in the Community, please contact Ross Paterson by emailing ross.paterson@stmirren.com. 

A gallery of pictures from the Westmarch Suite on Friday night following St Mirren's 0-0 draw with Celtic in Oran Kearney's first match in charge of Saints.

Thanks to our match sponsors McGeady Civil Engineering Contractors for their support. 

Gallery pictures by John Millar © - Millar Pictures

We can confirm that next weekend's match away to Hamilton in the Ladbrokes Premiership will be pay-at-the-gate. 

Hamilton v St Mirren
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: Hope CBD Stadium, Hamilton
Date: 22nd September 2018

Gate Prices 

Adults - £22
Concessions* - £12 

*Under 18s and over 65s

Oran Kearney reflects on his first match in charge of St Mirren as the Saints picked up a point at home to Premiership champions Celtic.

Oran Kearney got his Saints' managerial career off to a fine start as his side picked up a deserved point against champions Celtic.

The Buddies were the better side in the first half, Ryan Flynn and Lee Hodson going closest with the many chances the side created. And when Olivier Ntcham was sent off for two yellows before the break it gave Saints a great chance of picking up their first win since the opening day of the season.

But in the second half Celtic dominated possession, the hosts unable to get out of their own half for large parts of the game. However, it wasn't until the final quarter that the champions started creating chances and when they did they were denied by poor finishing or Craig Samson. They thought they'd finally made the breakthrough in the dying seconds of injury time when Leigh Griffiths found the net but the flag was already up for offside. Had the goal stood, it would have been a cruel end for a Saints team who worked their socks off for their new manager.

Kearney made five changes for his first game in charge, Friday signing Anton Ferdinand the most notable as he started in defence alongside Jack Baird. There was also a debut for Hearts loanee Ryan Edwards and Danny Mullen was the lone man in attack with Paul McGinn returning at rightback. Celtic started with Odsonne Edouard up front and there was a debut for defender Filip Benkovic, former Buddie Lewis Morgan out through injury.

Edwards made a lively start to his Saints career he was booked inside two minutes after a coming together with Kieran Tierney. Seconds later the Buddies could have been front, Ntcham being penalised for handball and Cammy Smith firing in a free-kick that Craig Gordon palmed away. The bright start continued as Kyle Magennis lashed a shot over from a tight angle after the ball broke kindly for him before Celtic got a sight of goal for the first time, James Forrest robbing Hodson and charging forward only to drag his shot across goal.

Saints were creating by far the better chances, Hodson delivering a great cross for the flying Flynn but he headed over. Smith was denied by Gordon at close range before Ntcham was finally booked for persistent fouling after a poor tackle on Edwards. Saints went close again when a corner found Jack Baird and he turned before trundling his shot wide.

The Buddies had looked by far the better in attack and almost took the lead when Paul McGinn's cross was only knocked out as far as Hodson, his drive being deflected inches past the post with Gordon beaten. Celtic then went even closer, Kris Ajer heading on a corner for Dedryck Boyota whose header was nodded off the line by Flynn. The champions had suddenly come to life but were dealt a blow when Ntcham was sent off. The midfielder had continued to run about fouling folk after his yellow card and when he flew in late on Stephen McGinn it was obvious what was coming next – the tackle almost worthy of a straight red, let alone a second booking.

Despite being a man down, Celtic controlled the early stages of the second half as Saints seemed happy to let them have plenty of possession. However, they weren't able to do a great deal with it so Leigh Griffiths was introduced at the expense of Benkovic in the hope he could make the breakthrough. His arrival added some fresh impetus as Celtic quickly forced a corner but Ajer's shot was blocked before Tierney sent a hopeful shot well wide.

Saints were sitting deeper and deeper and the defending was a bit frantic at times, clearances going straight to the opposing backline. Tom Rogic was booked for shoving over Mullen after winning a free-kick before Griffiths blazed a shot over after being set up by Forrest. Ferdinand had strolled through his Saints debut but a lack of match fitness meant it came to an end 20 minutes from the end, Cammy MacPherson taking his place. Another change soon followed, the tiring Smith replaced by Hayden Coulson. Scott Brown was booked after halting Mullen's run before his team created a great chance, Samson unable to hold Edouard's shot only for Callum McGregor to knock the ball by the post. 

Excursions into the visiting half had been few and far between for Saints after the break but a ball over the top allowed Mullen to race through only for Brown to intercept his pass. McGregor fashioned himself a chance as he danced past a Saints defender but his weak shot was easy meat for Samson. As the final five minutes approached the hard-working Mullen was replaced by Matty Willock as Celtic replaced Edouard with Ryan Christie. Just before the changes, Stephen McGinn had given away a free-kick for a foul on Forrest. The initial ball was only cleared as far as the winger at the edge of the box but his attempt to chip Samson was plucked out of the air by the keeper. 

The visitors looked to be getting closer and closer to snatching all three points, a corner bouncing around the box before Boyota headed over then Samson held a header from Christie. In virtually the final second of the game Griffiths was sent through but before he could pull the trigger the flag was up for offside, much to the relief of the Saints fans who were soon able to celebrate a point. They had witnessed a tremendous display from a well organised team that gave everything for their new boss, providing plenty of optimism for the weeks ahead. 

St Mirren: Samson, P.McGinn, Baird, Ferdinand (MacPherson 73), Hodson, Magennis, McGinn, Flynn, Smith (Coulson 78), Edwards, Mullen (Willock 86)
Subs Not Used: Muir, Coulson, Jones, Kirkpatrick, Willock, Erhahon

Celtic: Gordon, Boyata, Ajer, Benkovic (Griffiths 60), Tierney, Ntcham, Brown, McGregor, Rogic, Forrest, McGregor, Edouard (Christie 87)
Subs Not Used: Bain, Lustig, Mulumbu, Sinclair, Johnston

Referee: Andrew Dallas
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Fourth Official: Nick Walsh

Attendance: 7,288

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Anton Ferdinand. 

The English defender puts pen to paper on a deal until the end of the season.

The 33 year-old began his career at English Premier League side West Ham United where he made over 150 appearances. 

Capped by England at U21 level, Anton has also had spells with Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers, Antalyaspor, Reading and Southend United.