St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Tony Watt on loan until the end of the season.

Tony joins us from fellow cinch Premiership side Dundee United.

A well-known face in Scottish football, the 29-year-old forward worked with manager Stephen Robinson at Motherwell and bolsters our options in the forward areas. 

Speaking with stmirren.com, Tony said: "I'm buzzing. I'm delighted to be here and now it's time to get to work. 

I know the manager and I've played with a lot of the boys so hopefully it'll be a seamless transition. 

"I want to win games and adapt to the team. The manager wants me to play through the middle and score goals and that's what he believes I can do.

"I'm ready and raring to go and hopefully I can be involved in the next few days."

Manager Stephen Robinson added: "I'm delighted to welcome Tony to the club.

I’ve worked with Tony before and I know what he brings,” the manager told stmirren.com.

"Tony comes and links play, he makes things happen and has the ability to score goals as well which he’s proved.

"He adds a bit more to what we have – especially with Jonah being out – and gives us more options to choose from."

Tony Watt shakes hands with Stephen Robinson after agreeing his loan move (Image: Kenny Ramsay) 

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Ethan Erhahon has joined English League One side Lincoln City on a permanent deal subject to international clearance. 

The 21-year-old moves for an undisclosed fee with significant add-ons and a potential sell-on.

A product of the St Mirren Youth Academy, Ethan has been with St Mirren for over 15 years and made 123 appearances for St Mirren with his first-team debut at just 16 in a Challenge Cup tie against Raith Rovers in October 2017.

Ethan became a regular in the first-team the following season when he made 22 appearances – most coming at an unfamiliar left-back position.

Game time was limited for the midfielder in 2019/20 with Ethan completing a January loan move to Barnsley. He returned from his loan spell following the covid shutdown and became a first-team regular in the 2020/21 season – playing 40 games for Saints as we finished seventh in the cinch Premiership and reached the semi-finals of both the League and Scottish Cups.

The 21-year-old continued his progress the following season and in July 2022 made his 100th St Mirren appearance in a 2-0 win over Cowdenbeath in the Viaplay Cup. His final appearance came in Saturday’s 1-0 win against Motherwell at the SMiSA Stadium.

Manager Stephen Robinson said: "Ethan has been a pleasure to work with, he has arguably been one of my best players all season. But opportunities arise, Ethan was out of contract at the end of the season and it was good business on behalf of the club. 

"This is the model of the football club. We have to produce our own players. Ethan has played a lot of games at a good level for his age. Now we have to move on to the next one."

We thank Ethan for his time at St Mirren and wish him all the very best in his future career. 

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the loan signing of Thierry Small on loan until the end of the season subject to clearance.

The 18-year-old joins us on the temporary transfer from English Premier League side Southampton.

Thierry – who spent time in West Bromwich Albion’s Academy – became the youngest player in Everton’s history when he made his debut at the age of 16 years and 176 days in an FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday in January 2021.

He then joined the English Saints in August 2021 on a three-year contract. Capped by England at U18 level, Thierry had a loan spell at English League One side Port Vale where he made four appearances before being recalled by Southampton following the appointment of Nathan Jones as their manager.  

Speaking on the signing, manager Stephen Robinson said: "Thierry is a young player with lots of pace and lots of energy.

He gives us another option on that left-hand side at left wing-back. Scott Tanser has played a lot of games with no competition in that area and if he got injured or we needed to change it for any reason we had no option, so it was important we brought someone in.

"He’ll bring us pace, energy, strength and good quality on the ball. We are looking forward to having him in and he’ll certainly add to the squad."

A couple of exciting opportunities have arisen within St Mirren Football Club.

We are looking for a Head of Academy Sports Science & Medicine and a Financial Accountant to join our ambitious team.

Please click the links below to find out more details:

VACANCY: Head of Academy Sports Science & Medicine 
VACANCY: Financial Accountant

The closing date for both of these roles is Friday 3rd February at 5pm.

If you wish to apply please email your CV with a cover letter to Keith Lasley, Chief Operating Officer - keith.lasley@stmirren.com. 

Saints kick off a busy February with a trip to Pittodrie on Wednesday night to face Aberdeen.

Stephen Robinson's side moved back into the top six with a 1-0 win over Motherwell at the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday. Curtis Main scored the only goal as we moved above Aberdeen. 

The Dons will be led by interim manager Barry Robson following Jim Goodwin's departure on Saturday. Aberdeen parted company with the ex-Saints boss following their 6-0 loss to Hibernian at Easter Road. That came on the back of a shock 1-0 defeat to West of Scotland League side Darvel in the Scottish Cup. 

The Dons have won just one of their eight league matches since returning from the World Cup break. That was a 2-0 victory against St Johnstone at Pittodrie at the start of January. They currently sit in seventh place in the cinch Premiership - a single point behind Saints. 

Match Details

Aberdeen v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Wednesday 1st February 2023
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

Ticket Info

Tickets for Wednesday night's match are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office. Please note that there will be no sale of tickets at Pittodrie. Full ticket info can be found HERE. 

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com as part of their subscription with UK subscribers able to listen to live audio commentary. 

Previous

Both teams boast a win apiece in the two fixtures so far this season. 

Mark O'Hara and Greg Kiltie were on the scoresheet when the Buddies came from a goal behind to win 3-1 at the SMiSA Stadium on Christmas Eve. 

Aberdeen were 4-1 winners against 10-men Saints when the two met at Pittodrie back in August. 

Mark O'Hara puts us in front from the penalty spot in our 3-1 win over Aberdeen in December (Image: Allan Picken)

The officials

Grant Irvine is the referee on Wednesday night. Jonathan Bell and David Dunne are the assistant referees with Ross Hardie the Fourth Official. 

Gavin Duncan in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and he'll be assisted by Graeme Leslie. 

St Mirren travel to Pittodrie on Wednesday night to take on Aberdeen in cinch Premiership action.

Tickets are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office. 

Aberdeen v St Mirren 
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Wednesday 1st February 2023
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: Pittodrie Stadium

Aberdeen Ticket Info

Adults - £26
Over 65 - £20
Over 75 - £16
Youth* - £16
Under 18 - £12
Under 12 - £6

*18-21

There are currently four wheelchair & PA pairs available. These are priced at £12 for the wheelchair user, with the PA ticket free of charge. These are only available at the St Mirren Ticket Office.

Ambulant tickets are charged at the age-appropriate rate and can be issued with a free PA ticket should the supporter require it. 

Tickets for this match are only available at the St Mirren Ticket Office. There will be no sale of tickets at Pittodrie. 

The manager said there were many pleasing aspects of our win over Motherwell in the cinch Premiership.

Saints recorded their first league win of 2023 thanks to Curtis Main's first half goal against Motherwell. 

The Steelmen are the only visiting side to have won in Paisley in the league this season and hadn't lost at Greenhill Road since May 2015. Back then, a late Stevie Mallan screamer proved the difference and while Main's close range effort wasn't as spectacular, it was just as effective as it proved enough for all three points despite a late scare.

Saints boss Stephen Robinson rang the changes against his old side with Greg Kiltie taking over from the suspended Keanu Baccus and Ethan Erhahon returning to midfield as Alex Gogic dropped back into defence at the expense of Declan Gallagher, while Alex Greive replaced Jonah Ayunga upfront. Former Buddie Paul McGinn started in defence for the visitors.

Scott Tanser threatened early on for Saints after Gogic's long ball caused problems in the visiting defence, the Cypriot international then needed at the other end to block Stuart McKinstry's shot  following some some neat passing play. It was an even better ass that led to the opener, a throw in finding Ryan Strain in space and Curtis Main forced his way in front of his man to poke the low cross past Liam Kelly.

Curtis Main scores the only goal of the game (Image: Allan Picken)

There were worries the lead wouldn't last for long after some wrestling between Charles Dunne and Ricki Lamie at a Motherwell corner was followed by a VAR check but for once the normally inevitable penalty wasn't awarded. A foul on Erhahon just outside the box gave Saints a chance to double their lead but Strain's free-kick was straight at 'Well keeper Liam Kelly. The only other chance of note in a drab opening 45 minutes came when Marcus Fraser skipped down the right and delivered a decent cross but Tanser couldn't find the target.

Motherwell looked to make a quick start to the second half, Lamie not far away with a header from a corner. There was plenty of endeavour from both sides but action in the final third,  Fraser doing well  to snuff out the threat of Ollie Crankshaw as the visitors tried to break from a Saints free-kick. Saints goalie Trevor Carson was finally called into action with a good save to deny Max Johnston's low drive, then getting up quickly to smother the loose ball before the lurking Kevin van Veen could force it home, the keeper receiving a dunt for his efforts that required some treatment before he could continue.

The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Jonah Ayunga. The forward had replaced Greive but was unable to continue after coming off worse in a challenge with Shane Blaney, paving the way for youngster Kieran Offord to make his first appearance following his return from Alloa. Chances remained at a premium, Main dragging a shot wide, before some drama in stoppage time.

The injuries and substitutions led to six minutes of injury time and midway through them Motherwell almost drew level. A cross from the Motherwell left caused Saints problems and McKinstry looked set to equalise only to be denied by a tremendous save from Carson, Saints players then flinging themselves in the way to keep out Callum Slattery's follow up and ensure the points stayed in Paisley.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-0 Motherwell

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Strain (Gallagher 87), Kiltie (Flynn 87), Erhahon, O'Hara (c), Tanser, Greive (Ayunga 60, Offord 79), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Kenny, F,Taylor, Jamieson

Motherwell: Kelly, Johnston, Blaney, Lamie, McGinn, Spittal (Crankshaw 56), Slattery, Goss (Cornelius 89), Shields (Tierney 56), Van Veen, McKinstry 
Subs Not Used: Oxborough, O'Donnell, Johansen, Dunachie, Ross

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Colin Steven
VAR: Grant Irvine
Assistant VAR: Alan Mulvanny

Richard Taylor and Lewis Jamieson visited pupils from Fordbank Primary School earlier this week as they gave out 30 tickets for our cinch Premiership match against Motherwell.  

The Saints players took part in a Q&A and signed autographs for pupils after they had received football coaching throughout the day from our Street Stuff coaches. 

We thank Mr Bright and all at Fordbank for their hospitality and look forward to welcoming the pupils to the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday.

Primary school visits are a vital part of our ongoing community engagement efforts with the club arranging more player visits to local schools as well as offering additional match day tickets for other matches throughout the season.

If your school would be interested in a visit by our first-team players then please contact info@stmirren.com.

Chest and Heart Stroke Scotland visited us at The SMiSA Stadium last week to receive the latest batch of Help a Buddie match tickets for Saturday's cinch Premiership fixture against Motherwell. 

We talked to Chris Docherty, Community Engagement Co-ordinator at Chest and Heart Stroke Scotland and had an in-depth discussion about the history of the charity, the programmes they run and their plans for the future. 

Chris had this to say about the ticket donations:

Being gifted these tickets allows us to offer our service users a game day experience with their peers and carers/family support.

"Sport and especially football is a great way to have fun, vent frustrations and join in the experience of being in a crowd.

"It’s a great mental health meter top up and a chance for our service users to have a great day out!"

About Chest and Heart Stroke Scotland

Chest and Heart Stroke Scotland is the nation’s largest health charity. It works to help people with chest, heart and stroke conditions live their life to the fullest by providing vital services to support people and their families who are affected by these conditions, no matter the severity.

Founded in 1899 as the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis or (NAPT) for short, the charity was known for its contribution to the fight against TB, a huge threat to people’s lives in the last century. For fifty years the charity raised public health campaigns, developed sanatoria, clinics and supported individual patients and their families.  

Chris told stmirren.com: "CHSS has changed to meet the need of our community, matching their needs, listening to their feedback and working in co-production with them to form, adapt and continue to review our offerings."

Over time the charity has adapted around people’s needs, incorporating the most prevalent conditions affecting the nation.

With heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory illness becoming a bigger issue, the focus of the charity changed to keep up with the major changes in Scotland’s health problems.

In 1991 the charity changed its name to what we know it as today, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS).

What Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland do

CHSS run multiple services to make sure no one has to recover from any of these conditions alone. They operate an advice line which is completely confidential, organise community support services as well as peer support groups and provide health information for those in need. They also provide one-to-one support, tailored to the needs of each person, and by supporting people as they return home from hospital, they make sure everyone in Scotland gets the care and help they need, where and when they need it.

He encouraged anyone who might be on the fence about contacting the charity to pop in and see them.

The best way to see if we can be of any assistance to someone is really by getting in touch," Chris said.

"Whilst we don’t have every service that someone is needing, we do pride ourselves on being a very proactive sign posting organisation, with connections within a network of nationwide communities. If we can’t help you, there’s a good chance that we know someone who can.”

Chris told us about CHSS’s new Health Defence programme that aims at being there for people before they’ve had potential life changing events and catching symptoms early to try and prevent them from happening at all.

Through our Health Defence project, we actively promote an understanding of people’s own physical and mental health.

"We offer health checks (including blood pressure monitoring and cholesterol) as well as free supported health walks and physical activity sessions. All our services are free and open to everyone.

We finished by talking about Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s goals for 2023 and Chris had this to say:

We want to both continue with our current range of community support, but also to reach out to more community partners, expand the reach of our services and continue to have a positive impact on the lives of as many individuals and groups as we can."

To find out more about Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland please visit their website by clicking HERE.

About Help a Buddie

Help a Buddie is our brand-new initiative where St Mirren supporters have the chance to purchase and donate a match ticket for those less fortunate.

The Help a Buddie scheme will run for the entirety of the 2022/23 season and will continue to help benefit local community groups/organisations and those less fortunate supporters.

Click HERE to donate a Help a Buddie ticket.