Saints travel to Dumbarton tomorrow afternoon for the third meeting of the two sides in the Ladbrokes Championship this season. 

The Buddies have yet to win against the Sons this season with a draw and a loss in the two meetings between the teams. In September, the now departed Ryan Hardie scored a first half equaliser cancelling out Andy Stirling's early effort. While, as has often been the case when the two sides face off, Garry Fleming was the scourge of St Mirren in November when his 63rd minute goal gave Dumbarton a 1-0 win at the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

St Mirren's last win against Dumbarton came in February 2016 when Lawrence Shankland scored in the second half to secure a 1-0 win for the Buddies.  

Jack Ross' side will look vastly different to the one that has faced Dumbarton already this season after an overhaul in the playing staff during the January transfer window. The manager has confirmed that Ben Gordon and Rocco Quinn are still out on the injured list while Lewis McLear is doubtful due to a hamstring problem. He also confessed that Stephen Mallan is currently 50/50 after a problem with his knee.

New signings Adam Eckersley and Harry Davis will be in line to make their debuts after signing deals with the club on transfer window deadline day. Saints will also be lining up with a new captain after the announcement that Stephen McGinn will now be skipper.

One of the players that left the club in January was Calum Gallagher who joined Stephen Aitken's men. Gallagher made 54 appearances during his time at St Mirren scoring eight goals. Gallagher has featured twice off the bench for the Sons since signing. Another ex-Saint likely to feature for Dumbarton is Stuart Carswell who left the Buddies in the summer. 

There doesn't tend to be much between the Saints and the Sons when the two meet with neither team winning by more than a one goal margin since The Buddies came down to the Championship last season so another close encounter could be on the cards.

MANAGER'S THOUGHTS

"We play against a team that's in as good a form as anybody in this league. The run they've been on recently has been terrific and they deserve a huge amount of credit for it."

"We need to go and put a consistent run together and if we can do that then we'll have a positive end to the season. I believe in the group and I think it's a stronger group now."

"Adam is someone I've worked with previously at Hearts and played a big part in Hearts winning the Championship. He was a popular player amongst the players and supporters. It's a big asset for us.

"Harry's played a couple of hundred games at a good level in England and he's a good age. He's up here determined to prove how good he is and the incentive for him is that he can become a hero if he's part of a side that goes and gets us out of the situation we find ourselves in. They both come into the squad for the game." 

St Mirren in the Community are pleased to confirm that the community classes are back on at the Carbrini@JD Airdome from 9:00am to 11:00am on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

For more information on the community classes please contact Fiona Dainty by e-mail at fiona.dainty@stmirren.com.

St Mirren is continuing to suffer issues with the phone system at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and we still can't receive phone calls as a result. 

We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would ask supporters to send all queries to either info@stmirren.com, tickets@stmirren.com or commercial@stmirren.com 

We hope to have our phone lines back up and running by the beginning of next week.

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 4th February), St Mirren head over the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton in a Ladbrokes Championship fixture at The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium is as follows:

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus going to the league match at Dumbarton will leave at 2:00pm.

Bus seat tickets are now available.  

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus will leave at 2:00pm for Dumbarton.

Tickets for this bus are now on sale from The Bankhouse.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for Dumbarton will leave the Court Bar at 2:00pm.

Bus tickets are now on sale from behind the bar.

North End Travel Club

The North End Travel Club bus to Dumbarton will leave the Sneddon at 2:00pm.

Bus tickets now available in the Brewer's Tap, £6 each.

* proof of status will be required and can only be purchased at the St Mirren Ticket Office.

Tickets for this match are on sale from the St Mirren Ticket Office.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours for the remainder of this week are as follows:

03/02/2017 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
04/02/2017 - CLOSED

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

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

Tomorrow, Saturday 4th February, St Mirren head over the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up.

The ticket prices and availability have now been confirmed for the fixture at The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium and these are shown above.

The referee tomorrow is John Beaton and he will be assisted by Graeme Stewart and Thomas Shaw.

For directions to The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium click here

Harry Davis admits he's not familiar with Scottish football. 

But the central defender says he is relishing his opportunity at St Mirren.

The 25 year-old joined the Buddies on loan until the end of the season in a deal that just beat the transfer window deadline on Tuesday night. 

And after speaking to players he knows that are plying their trade in Scotland, Harry can't wait to be a part of it all.

I'm delving into the unknown a little bit," he confessed. "I don't know a lot about Scottish football, but I wanted to come here. It's a great experience for me and a new chapter in my career. 

"I spoke to Abdul Osman who is at Partick Thistle and he only had good things to say. I know Luke Hendrie at Kilmarnock as well and they only had good things to say about Scottish football and I'm excited.

"I'm delighted to be here. I'm still getting used to the lads names, but I enjoyed my first training session and it's good to be here."

The big defender has made over 200 appearances for parent club Crewe Alexandra and believes his experience of relegation battles with the Railwaymen will stand him in good stead in his time at the Saints.

I've been in this situation with Crewe so I know what it's all about down at the bottom," he said. "I want to try and help out. I'm out of contract in the summer so I've not just come here to get games. I've come here to help out and do my best for the football club. 

"The aim is to play as many games as I can and do well. I want to be a success here and I just can't wait to get going. 

"I've always known St Mirren to be a big club so hopefully we can get ourselves out of this situation that we're in."

When asked what Saints fans can expect to see from him, Harry said: "My strongest point is my reading of the game. I've played a lot of games so hopefully I should have a good bit of experience. You'll just have to find out when you see me play." 

At this time of year most people are focusing on what they want to stop doing which can be unrealistic. Let Pro-Life turn that frown upside down, be more positive and decide what you are going to start doing! 

Start looking after your health, fitness and wellbeing by joining Pro-Life Fitness Centre and they will change your life forever. Pro-Life have just invested over £100,000 on improving our facilities so that your membership gives you even more for your money: 

• Regular free health checks
• Access to over 40 classes per week
• Private parking
• Little lifer's creche 
• Our luxury refurbished spa
• New HIITS zone
• New Cross Fit & Functional area
• Bespoke nutrition
• Personalised training programmes

Pro-Life's amazing team will welcome you in and help you achieve your goals whatever they may be. But the best part of being a member is what you will feel - happy, more energetic, less stressed, more confident and healthier! What are you waiting for? With no joining fee and nothing to pay until March contact 0141 889 5027 today and come to life!

St Mirren is currently suffering issues with our phone system at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and can't receive phone calls as a result. 

We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would ask supporters to send all queries to either info@stmirren.com, tickets@stmirren.com or commercial@stmirren.com 

We hope to have our phone lines back up and running by tomorrow. If we are unable to do this we will put out another update on the club website. 

Cappielow Park, the Dumbarton Football Stadium and the Paisley 2021 Stadium will host Group 4 in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite Round as Scotland bid to qualify for the finals for the fourth season in a row with FREE entry for all.

Scotland will take on Montenegro, Serbia and Switzerland between 17-22 March in an attempt to qualify for this year’s finals in Croatia.

The group is one of eight mini-tournaments being played around Europe with the winners qualifying for this year’s finals in Croatia.

The seven best runners-up will also progress to the final tournament which takes place in May.

This season’s finals take on added significance as they act as a qualifying round for the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be held in India in October.

Scotland will take on Montenegro at Cappielow Park in their opening elite round match on Friday, 17 March, before facing Serbia at the Paisley 2021 Stadium two days later.

They return to Paisley on Wednesday, 22 March where they will finish off their finals bid with a match against Switzerland.

Scotland defeated Malta, Wales and reigning under-17 champions Portugal to qualify for the elite round back in September, earning a place as one of the top seeds and ranked sixth best in Europe based performances over the last three seasons.

Entry to all matches is FREE* (gates open one hour prior to kick-off).

Fixture schedule

Friday, 17 March 2017

Scotland v Montenegro – kick-off 7.30pm

Cappielow Park, Greenock

Serbia v Switzerland – kick-off 7.30pm

Dumbarton Football Stadium, Dumbarton

Sunday, 19 March 2017

Scotland v Serbia – kick-off 3pm

Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley

Switzerland v Montenegro – kick-off 1pm

Cappielow Park, Greenock

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Switzerland v Scotland – kick-off 5pm

Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley

Montenegro v Serbia – kick-off 5pm

Dumbarton Football Stadium, Dumbarton

*One adult per four under-16s

As our first transfer window in control of the club closes I think it is an appropriate time for another Chairman's update.

TRANSFER BUSINESS

I don't think anyone who has watched the team this season would argue that urgent major surgery was required and we feel that we have managed to dramatically improve the balance, standard and depth of the squad in a window where it is notoriously hard to bring in quality players.

Jack, James and Tony have put in some long hours to make sure we examined every option available and got quality and value for money in everything we did and I thank them all for their efforts. 

I would also like to thank the fans for voting to contribute to our remodelling through the contribution of funds through the Smisa discretionary spend.

Jack was given the final say on all transfer decisions both in and out, and whilst we lost some players we would ideally have liked to keep, as always things weren't always as straightforward as they may have seemed on the face of it.

In the summer we received offers for two of our younger players. We had no financial need to sell and felt as a club that it was important to build a team around our young players, so both bids were rejected.

We approached this transfer window with the same mind-set however there were considerations to take into account which were not applicable 6 months previously.

As an example, Jason Naismith was due to be out of contract in the summer, but crucially before his 23rd birthday which is in June. This meant that he would have been free, under SPFL and SFA rules, to join another Scottish Club after his birthday with no development compensation being due to St.Mirren.

We were left then to weigh up a situation where we could get a small fee for Jason now and invest in the squad or hold him to his contract and get nothing in the summer.

We obviously chose to let him go and use the transfer income and his weekly wage to strengthen the squad.

As an aside to this we had actually agreed to take a young full back from another club only to discover a wonderful anomaly which limits the number of development loans between teams in the top development league. In other words we are working at a disadvantage to other teams in our division because of the success of our development team. Other teams which play in the lower development leagues can take any number of development loans from the top league clubs. Go figure!

The loss of the very talented Kyle McAllister was certainly a blow and I know he was a very popular player with the supporters.

Kyle was offered a new contract at the same time as Kyle Magennis but, as was his right, he decided not to re-sign.

Kyle's contract only had another year to run having signed the maximum permitted three year contract on turning 16 in January 2015.

It became clear that Kyle himself wanted to leave once he knew of the interest from Derby County. Facing the option of losing the player for minimal compensation in a years time it was really then about trying to get the best possible deal we could for the football club. We tried hard to gain a loan back clause in his deal but alas none of the potential buyers were willing to compromise on that point. In the end we have secured what we feel was a good price for the player, including a range of add-ons that will trigger additional payments to the club should Kyle progress as we all hope.

We wish Jason and Kyle all the best for the future.

THE DOME 

The Dome has been down now for a few weeks. For me this is unacceptable but once again we are faced with a situation where the company that supplied it originally has gone out of business and there only appears to be one company in Scotland that can repair it!

A template was taken last week to repair the tears and the repair was carried out today so, depending on the damage to the lighting inside, we expect to be up and running again early next week. We will contact all our long term bookings as soon as we have an exact date. We have asked the company for an estimate to strengthen the problem areas so this does not continue to be a yearly event!

THE ACADEMY

The repairs at the academy are on going but the canteen is now back operational and safe and the work to the home changing room is well under way and due for completion shortly. The works to the kitchen and coaches changing areas will probably be put off until the summer as there is no immediate danger to anyone. After some investigation work we have been advised that we can extend the life of the Astro pitch by a couple of years for a relatively small investment so we are awaiting a firm estimate for this so we can make a decision on how we proceed.

IN SUMMARY

We are working hard behind the scenes to put the foundations in place that will allow us to start moving forward again and we are getting there. We have yet to  see the benefits in our results on the park yet but with your continued support I am positive things will turn around soon.

Saturday is a massive game away at Dumbarton and I am sure you will turn out in your numbers and show our new signings what being a part of our club is all about.

Thank you for your continued support.

Gordon Scott