The St Mirren Under-20 side are back in action this coming Tuesday afternoon when they play host to their counterparts from Dundee.

The SPFL Development League encounter between the young Buddies and Dark Blues on Tuesday 22nd November will take place at New Western Park in Renfrew and it will kick-off at 4:00pm.

For more news on the SPFL Development League please click HERE.

Fiona Dainty has joined St Mirren as the club's new Football Development and Community officer. The Scotland woman's under-17s coach takes over from Ross Paterson who moved to Ralston to become assistant head of youth to Allan McManus. 

stmirren.com sat down with Fiona to discuss her role, the importance of community and some of her plans for the job as she gets settled in to life at St Mirren.

 Q: Fiona, firstly welcome to St Mirren. How have your first couple of weeks been?

A: It's been good. It's a job I've always wanted to do and to come into a club like this has been exciting, it's been busy and I've spent my time getting out and about in the local community to see what we're doing. 

Q: How long have you had an interest in football?

A: It started when I left school and then studied sports coaching. I followed that pathway and started some sessional coaching in at clubs and for various local authorities and always kind of forged a pathway in sport with a particularly strong interest in football. It's always been something I've wanted to do and finally got the opportunity to work full time here.

Q: Tell us a little bit about what the role actually involves?

A: There's different streams of it to be honest. It's not just going out to deliver football, but it's also looking at who the community that St Mirren engages with are. Our bread and butter sessions will be working with primary school and pre-primary school kids that don't get the opportunity to play in teams and giving them a chance to come and train whether we are in their community or whether it's in the dome. But looking at different projects, there's football memories which is working with older members of the community, we're looking at football fans in training that will start which is looking to improve the health of St Mirren supporters both male and female. We're running a winter leavers programme for school leavers to show them what happens in at a club and how that can influence a wee bit more positively in their chances of moving on to work or college when they finish. So it's varied, it's not just about football but all the other stuff that goes and we can draw people in because we are a big name in the community. 

Q: How important is it for a club like St Mirren is firmly entrenched in the local community?

A: You can talk in cliches but the heart of everything needs to be your community and looking at the competition that's in this area as such in relation to other clubs that play in different leagues, other sports that are emerging, we want to still be an attractive proposition for this local community. There's so much more going on than just 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon and the first team running out. 

Q: Gordon Scott said in his latest update on the website that one of the things you'll be tasked with will be looking at the women's side of the club. Can you tell us a little more about what that actually means?

A: It's a pathway that's not really been explored if I'm being totally honest. I have a keen interest in the women's game, that's where I've worked for a long time. I have done a lot of community stuff in local authorities but looking at how we can develop players and again it's a competitive market out there. There's three performance clubs within this area that will be difficult to break into but we'll start with community sessions in local schools and our facilities, working with the local clubs that are already out there because there's quite a lot of under 9's and under 11's activities. In my joint role with the SFA we'll see how we can support that, but also looking at additional sessions we can put on with players that are already playing and then look, as we establish a community programme in here, to build in your community teams and then hopefully you'll develop players.

Q: Women's football has grown in popularity in the last couple of years, there was the Scottish Cup final recently between Hibs and Glasgow City. Have you spoken to the club about there being a St Mirren women's football team?

A: I think once you establish a programme your pathway would go that way. It's probably better to start at a younger age group and then over a period whether it's a 3 year plan or a 5 year plan then the aim would be to have a senior women's squad. It would then probably take another five years to challenge at Scottish Cup level if we are being realistic but it's about the team and the provisions you have in place. I know the club are looking to develop that side of things so if the backing is there and the support is there then there's nothing to say we won't have a successful women's team in the years to come. The framework is definitely there for us to go and look in the local community at sessions we can run.

Q: Is that something that excites you?

A: Yeah. My passion is women's football, I work with the U17s national squad, I do regional performance squads, so I definitely see a gap in the market there. This club should have a team across all pathways. We have the senior men's team, but looking at other classes that we have such as walking football, the additional support needs sessions, the women's side would be part of that pathway to complete that. 

Stephen Mallan believes the win over Ayr United in the IRN-BRU Cup on Sunday was massive and hopes the side can take confidence from it heading into this Saturday's match against Dunfermline. 

The Pars visit the Paisley 2021 Stadium for the 5:15pm kick off this weekend and the midfielder, who set up the equaliser with an excellent cross for John Sutton, hopes that the Saints can carry that feeling forward in what will be a big game in the Ladbrokes Championship.

It's a real good feeling," he told stmirren.com in the aftermath of the game. "It gave us a break from the league and thankfully we came from behind and got the win and it takes us into the weekend with a bit of confidence.

"When you're on a bad run in the league you need a wee confidence booster from a win. If you can get a win in the cup it can give you that bit of confidence to take into the weekend and it gives the fans something to cheer about."

Mallan understands what winning means to the supporters and was pleased the team could give the fans something to be happy about. 

It's very important," he said. "Most weeks they've gone away unhappy and it's the same for the boys too, we are feeling it as well. It makes their weekend if we win and thankfully we gave them something to cheer about."

He also said that despite going 1-0 down in the game he felt sure that Saints would still go on to win as they had been playing well.

It's a sign of confidence that has perhaps lacked in recent times for the Buddies, but the midfielder said: "It was an eye-opener as we had so much of the ball and had chances and they got the goal and as soon as they got the goal they kind of sat in a wee bit. 

Thankfully the gaffer changed formation and brought a few boys on that changed the game in Walsh and Shanks. It was good for the boys to show the courage to get the 2-1 win. 

"I think because we played so well when their goal went in it was one of the few times I've actually felt confident we could still get the win. We carved them open and they were tiring. 

"It was good for the boys to turn it around," he continued. "As soon as we went forward we could hear the fans behind our back and that gave us more incentive with the fans cheering." 

We recently asked you to send in your suggestions for what you would like to see above the tunnel area and all the exits from all the vomitories as we look to make changes to the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

The club would like to thank everyone who took the time to send in their suggestions and there were a lot of excellent ideas for what we could do. 

We have now narrowed down all those suggestions to these three and want you to vote on what you would like to see.

Note only one vote is permitted per IP Address. Once you have cast your vote the vote button will no longer work. Once you have cast your vote you cannot change your mind!

Voting closes on Friday (18th November 2016) at 5pm. 

Scott Gallacher says he's looking forward to the IRN-BRU Cup semi-final after St Mirren defeated Ayr United 2-1 in the quarter-final tie at the Paisley 2021 Stadium yesterday. 

The Buddies were paired with Welsh side The New Saints in a battle of the Saints that will take place in Paisley in February and speaking to stmirren.com in the aftermath of the win yesterday, the goalkeeper said there were plenty of positives to take from the victory and they can now look forward to the semi-final when it comes around. 

It's a great occasion," he said. "It's the semi-final of a cup, so we'll take as much positives as we can from the game, the fight and desire at the end got us the result.

"Obviously being behind and going in front is a big confidence boost for the lads and it's great that way.

"It's massive and it keeps our heads high and we'll kick on from there. It's important to try to win any game first and foremost and hopefully we'll kick on from here."

The goalkeeper worked with Jack Ross at Alloa last season and says he's enjoying working with the manager again.

It's been great. He's one of those managers who gets on the boys' side and everybody seems to like him. Training is a high standard and he's been great." 

Gallacher admits he's happy to be given an opportunity as number one and realises that he'll have to impress if he wants to stay between the sticks.

It's good to get games," he said. "It was a tough opposition for us but a good game. I have to take advantage as much as I can and try to play my best whenever I'm in and hopefully play well."

St Mirren have been drawn at home to face The New Saints in the IRN-BRU Cup semi-final. 

The Buddies have seen off Albion Rovers, Hibernian and Ayr United in the run to the last four and will now battle it out with the Welsh side for a place in the final. 

The match is due to take place on the weekend of February 18/19. 

A dramatic finale saw Saints come from behind to beat Ayr United and march through to the semi-finals of the IRN-BRU Cup. 

It had looked like being an eerily familiar tale with the Buddies on top, unable to take their chances and then made to pay when Craig McGuffie squared for Andy O'Connell to put the visitors in front midway through the second half. 

But that was before John Sutton took centre stage. The striker drew the Buddies level when he volleyed in Stevie Mallan's tremendous ball into the box and two minutes later bagged the winner after Kyle Magennis' outstanding run and cross. 

The winning margin could have been even more by the end as Lawrence Shankland had a goal ruled out for a foul, however Sutton's brace proved to be enough for Jack Ross to celebrate his first win as Buddies boss.

Goalkeeper Scott Gallacher was back in the team at the expense of Jamie Langfield, who dropped to the bench, with Jack Baird replacing the cup-tied Ben Gordon in defence. Tom Walsh was among the subs as fellow on-loan Ranger Ryan Hardie was also cup-tied. Former Saints midfielder Gary Harkins started for Ayr along with one-time Buddies youngster Paul Cairney. 

Saints started on the front foot, David Clarkson not troubling Ayr keeper Greg Fleming too much with an early shot after he was set up by Lewis Morgan. Despite having plenty of possession, the Buddies weren't able to do much with it and a loose pass almost proved costly, Rab Crawford striding forward before testing Gallacher with a 25-yarder that the recalled keeper did well to hold. 

When Jason Naismith's dangerous cross was knocked behind for a corner, the visiting defence were only able to clear the set-piece as far as Kyle McAllister at the edge of the box and the youngster produced a thundering shot that Fleming palmed away. Ayr were forced into a chance before the half hour mark, Paddy Boyle forced off after injury to be replaced in the defence by Daryll Meggatt. 

Saints were beginning to knock on the door and great play from Mallan gave Sutton a chance, the striker recovering from a heavy first touch before his low shot was kept out by the stretching Fleming. The hosts were almost undone in the cruellest fashion when Craig McGuffie's shot was deflected up in the air and spun kindly for Alan Forrest, but Gallacher reacted quickly to change direction in time to save the attempt. Saints recovered and quickly forced a corner with McAllister's delivery finding Gary MacKenzie whose header bounced and spun back up, Fleming doing extremely well to tip the ball away just as it threatened to sneak under the bar. 

Half Time: St Mirren 0-0 Ayr United

The visiting keeper was in action again early in the second half, saving at his near post from Mallan after the midfielder had exchanged passes with Clarkson from a short corner. It was the forward's last involvement as he was replaced by Lawrence Shankland soon after, while Ayr replaced Forrest with Andy O'Connell. The Buddies supporters shouted for a penalty when Sutton hit the deck after being played through by Lewis Morgan, however referee Crawford Allan ignored the claims - probably the right call as Sutton himself didn't seem to be appealing. 

There was more for the home fans to get annoyed about moments later as Ayr took the lead. McGuffie did well to get away from the Saints defence only to take a heavy touch, which gave Gallacher hope he could get to the ball first. The keeper was able to block McGuffie's shot only for the ball to spin across perfectly for O'Connell to smash home from 12 yards to put the visitors in front.

A further Buddies blow was about to come, Gallacher accidentally wiping out Baird as he came for the ball and the defender had to be replaced by Tom Walsh, although the winger was getting ready to come on anyway. McGuffie, having done the damage for Ayr, made way for Mickey Donald. If it was a change aimed at shoring things up and seeing the game out, it failed spectacularly as Saints soon turned the game on its head. 

There didn't seem to be much danger when Mallan collected the ball just inside the Ayr half but he arrowed a ball into the box for Sutton and he hit a turning volley that gave Fleming no chance as it found its way into the bottom corner.

With the Saints support perhaps relieved at the prospect of taking the game to extra-time, they were celebrating another goal just a couple of minutes later. This time it was Kyle Magennis who was the provider, the youngster going on a tremendous run down the right before pulling the ball back for Sutton to sidefoot beyond Fleming and put St Mirren into a fully deserved lead.

Saints didn't have too much of the game left to see out and Shankland tried his best to make things a little more comfortable. First, he rattled the bar after a corner had been flicked on by Naismith and then he headed a Walsh cross beyond the grasp of Fleming, the celebrations cut short as the goal was disallowed. Fortunately it didn't matter as the Buddies saw the game out and booked their place in the semi-finals of the IRN-BRU Cup. 

Full Time: St Mirren 2-1 Ayr United

St Mirren XI: Gallacher, Naismith, Baird (Walsh, 72), MacKenzie, Irvine, Mallan, Magennis, McAllister (Stewart, 88), Clarkson (Shankland, 57), Morgan, Sutton
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Gallagher, Hutton, McLear

Ayr United: Fleming, Devlin, Balatoni, McKenna, Boyle (Meggatt, 26), Cairney, Docherty, Crawford, McGuffie (Donald, 77), Harkins, Forrest (O'Connell, 59)
Subs Not Used: Rose, Murphy, Hart, Wardrope

Referee: Crawford Allan
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvanny
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: Gavin Ross

Attendance: 2,199 

Match report pictures by Allan Picken – © Allan Picken Photography.

Match Gallery Pictures by John Millar - © millarpictures

Scott Gallacher starts in goal for St Mirren this afternoon as Jack Ross makes two changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Dumbarton last weekend. 

Out go Jamie Langfield and cup-tied Ben Gordon to be replaced by Gallacher and Jack Baird. 

Youngsters Kyle Magennis and Kyle McAllister keep their place in the starting XI after impressing last week with the latter picking up man of the match. 

Kick-off against Ayr United is at 12:30pm as the Saints look to join Dundee United and Queen of the South in the semi-finals of the IRN-BRU Cup. 

St Mirren XI: Gallacher, Naismith, Baird, MacKenzie, Irvine, Mallan, Magennis, McAllister, Clarkson, Morgan, Sutton
St Mirren Subs: Langfield, Stewart, Hutton, Walsh, McLear, Gallagher, Shankland 

A weekly round-up of all the main stories that have appeared on the website this week:

Chairman Gordon Scott gave his latest update where he talked about some of what is going on around the club at the moment including the news that the St Mirren Youth Academy has been granted Gold Status for another year. You can read his update here.

Jack Ross gave stmirren.com his thoughts ahead of Sunday's match against Ayr United. 

Speaking of Sunday's match, you can read our preview of the game here and find all the match day information at this link.

17 year-old Kyle McAllister made his first start of the season for the first team against Dumbarton last week and impressed as he picked up the man of the match award. He discussed how he felt after winning the award.

St Mirren have agreed with Ayr United to let all members of the Armed Forces into Sunday's IRN-BRU Cup quarter-final for free. Read here for the details. 

Meanwhile there was a double dose of news from the St Mirren Fans Council yesterday as they announced that the SMFC 1877 Supporters Club will be open to non-members on Sunday for the game. They are also encouraging supporters to register their interest in attending the Fans Council AGM where they will have a Q&A session with the new management team and board.

Jack Ross knows his side will face a difficult task against Ayr United in the quarter-final of the IRN-BRU Cup on Sunday. The Honest Men travel to Paisley on Sunday for the 12:30pm kick-off to take on the Saints with a semi-final place at stake. 

The manager spoke with stmirren.com this morning to discuss the match and while he knows the Saints are up against a difficult opponent, he wants the players to show belief that they can win the game. 

Coming up as a part-time team in this league is a challenge, but so far they've had a very positive season. They've achieved some terrific results already - not just at home, but away from home as well so it's much like a league game for us. They're all difficult challenges and although this is a different competition, it's just as difficult a match. 

"Rightly or wrongly I always go into a game thinking we can win it," he continued. "It's the feeling I try to get across to the players and they have to start believing it as well. As long as you do it in a way that is balanced and you realise what you have to do in the game to win it. You can't just think because you can win it that you will do. I think it's important that they retain that belief that they go into every single match thinking that they're going to win the game."

The manager said that preparation has gone well this week and he's pleased with the standards being shown on the training field.

There's just been a wee change to the structure of our week with the game being on Sunday. Other than that we structure our week in the same way and today we'll do a lot of stuff working towards how we feel we can get at Ayr United and how we can deal with them in a defensive situation. 

"I think every week I feel better and more comfortable and I think standards have risen in training all the time, so in that sense it has been a good week's preparation."

Something previously discussed by the manager as he looks to put his own stamp on the team has been about trying to find a settled eleven. Throughout the season both Jamie Langfield and Scott Gallacher have been changed around and the manager has said he's now going to give Gallacher the opportunity to claim the number one jersey after starting with Langfield in his first four games in charge.

When you inherit a squad and a club mid-season you have to assess everything within it and one of the things that was obviously evident was that there hadn't been a settled number one throughout the season. I think allied to that, Jamie doing his dual-role while still wanting to be competing for the number one spot isn't the perfect scenario either.

"It's not a knee-jerk reaction on the back of Saturday," he added. "It's something that I discussed with Jamie when I first came into the job about how we re-structure things or look at things to try and get the most out of the goalkeepers we've got here at the moment. 

"We're going to bring someone in to do one or two days to help on the coaching side. But equally, having spoken to Jamie and Scott, Scott will have an opportunity to establish himself as first choice and it will allow Jamie to focus more on the coaching side and be supportive of him. That's not to say that's set in stone because Scott has an opportunity, he needs to go and perform. 

I don't think the situation was ideal and we've looked at what we can do to try and tweak things to get the most out the goalkeepers that we've got here."

The manager will still be without the services of Andy Webster and Rocco Quinn who remain injured and he admitted that there is no timescale for their returns. Along with those two Ross will also be without the services of Ben Gordon and Ryan Hardie who are ineligible after playing for Alloa and Rangers U20s in this competition respectively.