Following the sad passing of Saints legend Frank McGarvey on New Year's Day, Tony Fitzpatrick pays tribute as he recalls memories of their friendship.
Picture courtesy of SNS Group
An exciting opportunity has arisen within St Mirren Football Club. We are looking for a new Head of Academy Coaching and Player Development to join our ambitious team.
Reporting to Academy Director, Allan McManus, this role will see you support and assist in the development of all coaches and players within the Academy at St Mirren Football Club. You will help shape our new Academy strategy for the coming years as we look to develop our young talent and give them the best possible opportunity to have a career in football.
We are passionate about player and coaching development, and we want you to come and help us develop that next crop of talent. You will be given the platform to work in a vibrant, intelligent and challenging sporting environment with the potential to become the best at what you do.
Our Academy has become well-renowned for producing talent with the likes of Ethan Erhahon, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Lewis Morgan, Kyle Magennis, Stephen Mallan and more coming through our ranks over the last number of years and we want to continue cultivating the next crop of talent to the highest standard in an ever-changing sporting environment.
You will be a highly reliable and enthusiastic individual who is able to motivate and enthuse others. You will have a flexible approach to work and be able to work evenings, weekends and match days as required. This is a challenging, but ultimately rewarding position.
The role will be on a full-time permanent basis. To download the job description and personal specification please click HERE.
If you’re interested in this exciting & challenging role, and wish to play a huge part in taking the Academy to the next phase of its journey please send an up-to-date copy of your CV and cover letter to: keith.lasley@stmirren.com by Friday 20th January 2023.
Interviews will be held at a date to be confirmed and only those invited to interview will receive return notification from us.
Tickets for our next two away matches - away to Hearts and Celtic - will be available from the St Mirren Ticket Office on Monday.
Tickets for our rearranged match away to Hearts next Friday (13th Jan) have been on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office but won't be available at the St Mirren Ticket Office tomorrow (Saturday 7th Jan). Sales of these will resume on Monday.
The St Mirren Ticket Office will be open between 10am-2pm on Monday to Friday next week with a 5pm-7pm opening on Thursday (12th Jan) for sale of tickets.
Tickets for our match away to Celtic are available to purchase online at stmirren.com/matchtickets. These will be available for postage until Friday (13th Jan).
Please see all the details for tickets below.
St Mirren travel to Scotland's capital on Friday 13th January to face Hearts in our rearranged fixture.
Please note that these are the same tickets for the fixture that was scheduled in September 2022 and therefore the date and kick-off time reflect the original fixture.
Tickets purchased for the original fixture remain valid.
Hearts v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Friday 13th January 2023
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: Tynecastle Park
Adults - £27
Over 65/FTE* - £19
Under 18 - £14
Under 16 - £7
Under 13 - £5
*Full time education. Valid student matriculation card required as proof.
A limited number of wheelchair and carer pairs are available at the St Mirren Ticket Office. These are priced at £10 for the wheelchair user, with the carer ticket free of charge.
Ambulant disabled tickets will be charged at the age-appropriate rate. If a carer is required, and proof of this is provided, the carer's ticket will be free of charge.
Tickets for our match against Celtic are available online at stmirren.com/matchtickets and will be available at the St Mirren Ticket Office on Monday.
Celtic v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Wednesday 18th January 2023
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: Celtic Park
Adults - £32
Concession* - £22
Under 13** - £14
*65 & over and U16s
**Under 13s must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchairs users will be charged at £22 with carer free of charge. These are only available from the St Mirren Ticket Office.
St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com
It's our first home match of 2023 as St Mirren get set to host Hearts at the SMiSA Stadium in cinch Premiership action.
Both sides come into Saturday's match with on five match unbeaten runs.
St Mirren vs Hearts
cinch Premiership
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 7th January 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
The match day officials for Saturday's match against Hearts are as follows:
Referee: Chris Graham
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Fourth Official: Mike Roncone
VAR: Colin Steven
Assistant VAR: Daniel McFarlane
The game kicks-off at 3pm.
There will be a minute's applause prior to kick-off following the sad passing of St Mirren legend Frank McGarvey on New Year's Day.
Season tickets are valid for Saturday's match.
The turnstiles will open to supporters from 2pm. The St Mirren Ticket Office is open between 11am until just after kick-off. Please note that tickets for next Friday's (13th Jan) match away to Hearts will not be available to buy at the St Mirren Ticket Office tomorrow.
The match is all ticket – tickets will be on sale (subject to availability) UNTIL KICK-OFF. Tickets are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and online at stmirren.com/matchtickets.
The fastest and easiest way to buy tickets for the home end is online at stmirren.com/matchtickets. Tickets will also be available in the West Stand Ticket booth which will be open from 1:30pm.
Hearts have sold out their allocation of tickets.
International subscribers to St Mirren TV can also watch the match live as part of their subscription. UK subscribers to St Mirren TV can listen to live audio coverage.
There will be no PPV available for this match.
| Adult | £26 |
| Concessions* | £16 |
| Child (under 12) | £6 |
| Wheelchair User** | £16 |
| Carer | Free |
* 65+, full-time student, wheelchair users and U18s.
** – The 'Wheelchair user' ticket is only available to purchase directly from the Ticket Office, it is not available online. Proof must be provided for anyone requiring a carer. To be entitled to a free carer ticket you must be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
| Adult | £26 |
| Concessions* | £16 |
| Child (under 12) | £6 |
| Wheelchair User** | £16 |
| Carer | Free |
* 65+, full-time student, wheelchair users and U18s.
** – The 'Wheelchair user' ticket is only available to purchase directly from the Ticket Office, it is not available online. Proof must be provided for anyone requiring a carer. To be entitled to a free carer ticket you must be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
| Adult | £26 |
| Concessions* | £16 |
| Child (under 12) | £6 |
| Wheelchair User** | £16 |
| Carer | Free |
Please note that the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand is a Family Stand and therefore we expect no swearing within this area.
* 65+, full-time student, wheelchair users and U18s.
** – The 'Wheelchair user' ticket is only available to purchase directly from the Ticket Office, it is not available online. Proof must be provided for anyone requiring a carer. To be entitled to a free carer ticket you must be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
| Adult | £26 |
| Concessions* | £16 |
| Child (under 12) | £6 |
| Wheelchair User** | £16 |
| Carer | Free |
* 65+, full-time student, wheelchair users and U18s.
** – The 'Wheelchair user' ticket is only available to purchase directly from the Ticket Office, it is not available online. Proof must be provided for anyone requiring a carer. To be entitled to a free carer ticket you must be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Ticket Office Phone No: (0141) 840-6130
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com
Panda Club is open to all kids aged 3-12 years old and costs £5 to attend.
There’s still time to secure a spot for your little one - please complete this REGISTRATION FORM.
Please note there is still no football available due to the unavailability of facilities.
The group will be meeting at the SMiSA Wall at the corner of the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand. Drop off is anytime between 2:30pm, and pick up will be 5pm, just shortly after the match ends.
Panda Club will also run at the following pre-split fixtures:
- St Mirren v Motherwell (28th Jan)
- St Mirren v Ross County (18th Feb)
- St Mirren v Livingston (1st Apr)
- St Mirren v Kilmarnock (22nd Apr)
Red Zone - South
For hospitality and home disabled supporters (subject to availability).
To enter/exit Greenhill Road. Hospitality ticket to be shown for entry.
Black Zone - Southwest
For Family Stand and Main Stand Patrons.
To enter/exit via Drums Avenue.
White Zone - West
For West Stand Patrons and Pay on the Day. Home disabled supporters in bays behind West Stand. Away disabled supporters in bays behind the dome.
To enter/exit via Ferguslie Park Avenue.
At the SMiSA Stadium we have an electronic ticketing system in place at the turnstiles.
The process of using the system is fairly straight-forward and easy to use:
The whole process will only take a few seconds.
Please note that there will be stewards in attendance to help where required.
The Club has been made aware of problems occasioned by inconsiderate parking in the area of Tannahill Road.
Seemingly supporters are parking despite the presence of double yellow lines and as a consequence local bus routes are also being blocked because streets in this area are narrow and fans are parking on both sides. People, many of whom are elderly, are having to walk from Greenhill Road to their homes because buses can’t get access.
Residents who have cars parked in driveways are experiencing similar difficulties getting their vehicles in and out. On being approached by local residents some supporters have been somewhat aggressive which could lead to confrontation.
St Mirren Football Club strives to be a good neighbour and we would ask that ALL supporters attending the stadium not only park in accordance with local parking restrictions but also give consideration to the needs of local residents by parking sensibly so as not to occasion an unnecessary obstruction.
We are also aware of problems with patrons parking at the front of the Main Stand to pick up disabled supporters at the end of the game. This area is a 'no parking' zone on match days (with cones on the road) and has to be kept clear for emergency access. It is an inappropriate location for disabled spectator uplifts, as not only does it cause an obstruction on the road, it also causes a danger to pedestrians leaving the stadium.
Please note that the designated pick-up/drop off points are either in Drums Avenue or the two lay-byes on Ferguslie Park Avenue.
BY ROAD
Follow signs for Paisley & Glasgow Airport. Exit the M8 at Junction 29 (St James’ Interchange) which is just after Glasgow Airport turn off if travelling east to west. Be careful not to exit on to the A737 which is signposted for Irvine. It is best to stay in the middle lane when passing the Airport as this leads naturally to the St James’ Interchange exit.
At the interchange take the first left onto a dual carriageway with some football parks on the left hand side. Follow this road and after a sharp right hand bend you should now be in Greenock Road. Then take your first right on to Clark Street and drive to the end of the street which is the junction with Greenhill Road, turn left and you will see the stadium on the opposite side of the road.
BY RAIL
Get train from Paisley Gilmour Street to Paisley St James – exit from the station is straight onto Greenhill Road where the stadium is facing you. To plan your journey by rail with Scotrail please click HERE.
BY BUS
Most buses will stop at Paisley Cross or Mill Street, from both you will see the Paisley Town Hall. From the Town Hall cross the High Street towards the Piazza Shopping Centre, when acoss walk towards the town centre until you come to Gilmour Street. Turn right on to Gilmour Street and walk towards the railway station which is about 150 yards away. From there you can get train to Paisley St James or if you prefer to walk the following routes are advised by the police:
Home fans: cross road to the left on to St James Street – follow through up Underwood Road then turn right at Greenhill Road where stadium is 200 yards further along the road. Access to the Main Stand is from Greenhill Road and the South and West Stands will be accessed from Drums Avenue.
Away fans: cross road to Love Street continue up the street till you come to Albion Street where you will turn left. Follow Albion Street until you come to the junction with Greenock Road where you will turn right. Cross the road then walk about 200 yards before taking your first left on to Clark Street. Walk straight up Clark Street to the end of the street which is the junction with Greenhill Road, turn left and you will see the the stadium on the opposite side of the road. Access to the North Stand will be from Ferguslie Park Avenue.
This week the club distributed its latest batch of Help a Buddie match tickets.
Renfrewshire Council of Alcohol (RCA) were the recipients with some members looking forward to seeing the Saints play Heart of Midlothian in the cinch Premiership this Saturday in our first home match of 2023.
We visited Margaret, Maria and Rebekah at The RCA Centre in Paisley this week to deliver the tickets for Saturday's match. They were excited to receive the tickets and couldn’t wait to hand them out.
About the Renfrewshire Council of Alcohol
The Renfrewshire Council of Alcohol is a support centre providing services for people living with addiction in Renfrewshire.
RCA started 45 years ago to give older men who had given up drinking, a social life outside of alcohol. It has grown from its humble beginnings as a small support group, to now supporting both men and women who have been impacted by the effects of alcohol, drugs and gambling.
The RCA receive referrals from NHS but stay true to their original purpose by giving a helping hand and a listening ear to anyone who knocks at their door. The charity is one of only two organisations in Scotland who provide free gambling addiction support. They are no longer bound to the Renfrewshire area and provide support all over Scotland.
The charity allows people to meet others who are in similar situations and provides them with a social life through their support groups. Another example of the charity’s work is helping people who have lost their homes due to addiction become settled again.
RCA have big goals for 2023. They aim to expand and help as many people as they can. They have recently started up one on one support for those who are struggling with gambling and plan to develop this throughout the year.
To find out more about the RCA Trust please visit www.rcatrust.org.uk
Richard Tait this week helped launch the new SPFL Match Attax collection for season 2022/23, available to buy now.
With all new cards featuring stars of the SPFL 22/23 season to collect, Match Attax returns with a roar as the 100% official and exclusive card collection for the cinch Premiership plus top performers from the cinch Championship.
The new collection was officially launched at Scotland’s National Stadium Hampden Park this week with the support of players from the cinch Premiership including Saints defender Tait.
This season’s collection includes 252 base cards to collect, plus special surprise, top secret and mystery packs featuring epic rare cards of your favourite Scottish football stars.
For the first time ever, super rare UNSTOPPABLE cards are available in 1:96 packs, while the new collection includes some 12 players who have recently returned from competitive international duties in November and December.
Steve Conner, UK Sales Director at Topps, comments: "Following a unique and unbelievably entertaining winter of international football, it has been fabulous to see the full Scottish domestic game back in full action – there is nothing quite like it.
The 2022/23 SPFL Match Attax collection reflects all the excitement, passion and magic of Scottish football and with some new additions including our 'unstoppable' cards we are sure the world’s most successful trading card game will again be a big hit with all ages of Scottish football fans.
"It was fitting that we were able to launch 22/23 SPFL Match Attax with the support of cinch Premiership players at Scotland’s National Stadium, and we hope fans across Scotland have fun collecting their cards and completing their collections."
The new SPFL Match Attax collection for 22/23 is on sale now in Scottish retailers and via Topps.com - keep your cards safe by purchasing a binder at Topps.com and spend your Christmas money on the best collectibles this New Year.
Follow Match Attax social channels to see SPFL players doing challenges and to find out more about the collection.
We are back at the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday for our first home match of 2023 as St Mirren host Hearts.
Stephen Robinson's side started the year with a hard-earned point following a 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Monday. Ethan Erhahon's early red card looked like Saints would be up against it, but the Buddies battled well and took a well deserved share of the spoils.
That draw made it five unbeaten for Saints and kept us in fifth place in the cinch Premiership.
Hearts will be coming into Saturday's match brimming with confidence following a 3-0 win over rivals Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby. Ex-Saint Lawrence Shankland netted twice for the Jambos as they also made it five unbeaten and extended their gap in third to five points over Saints and Aberdeen.
Robbie Neilson's side have won three and drawn two of their last five heading into Saturday's match.
Match Details
St Mirren v Hearts
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Saturday 7th January 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium
Ticket Info
Season tickets are valid for Saturday's match. Non-season ticket holders can buy home end tickets at stmirren.com/matchtickets or at the St Mirren Ticket Office.
Hearts have sold out their allocation of tickets for this match.
International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com as part of their subscription.
Previous
This will be the first time either side has met this season with the original fixture postponed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
Ironically, the two will meet again the following weekend with St Mirren travelling to Tynecastle for that rearranged fixture next Friday (13th Jan).
The last meeting of the sides was in the Scottish Cup quarter-final in March. Hearts took a 2-0 lead at Tynecastle, but a strike from Eamonn Brophy and our 2021/22 goal of the season from Connor Ronan brought Saints level. Ultimately, Hearts would go on to win 4-2.
Hearts also won all three league clashes last season winning 2-0 and 2-1 at the SMiSA Stadium and 2-0 again at Tynecastle.
Saints last victory over the Jambos was in March 2020 when Jon Obika scored the only goal in what proved to be the final day of the 2019/20 season.
Jon Obika scored the winner the last time Saints defeated Hearts (Image: Kenny Ramsay)
The officials
Chris Graham takes charge of the match on Saturday. His assistants are David McGeachie and Gordon Crawford. Mike Roncone is fourth official.
Colin Steven is the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) while Daniel McFarlane is Assistant VAR.
Tickets for our rearranged cinch Premiership match away to Hearts on Friday 13th January are on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office.
Tickets for this match will only on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office. There will be no sale of tickets online or at Tynecastle. Tickets will not be available to buy on Saturday 7th January prior to our home match against Hearts.
Please note that these are the same tickets for the fixture that was scheduled in September and therefore the date and kick-off time reflect the original fixture.
Tickets purchased for the original fixture remain valid.
Hearts v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Friday 13th January 2023
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: Tynecastle Park
Adults - £27
Over 65/FTE* - £19
Under 18 - £14
Under 16 - £7
Under 13 - £5
*Full time education. Valid student matriculation card required as proof.
A limited number of wheelchair and carer pairs are available at the St Mirren Ticket Office. These are priced at £10 for the wheelchair user, with the carer ticket free of charge.
Ambulant disabled tickets will be charged at the age-appropriate rate. If a carer is required, and proof of this is provided, the carer's ticket will be free of charge.
Tickets for this match are only available at the St Mirren Ticket Office. There will be no sale of tickets at Tynecastle.
St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com.
Stephen Robinson gives his thoughts following our hard-fought point at Kilmarnock.
St Mirren began 2023 with a hard-earned point away to Kilmarnock with Saints having to play over 85 minutes with 10 men following Ethan Erhahon early red card.
Stephen Robinson's men battled throughout the 90 minutes and were well worthy of at least a point that in front of a travelling support of almost 1500 Buddies.
The manager was forced into two changes from the side that started in Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Livingston. Mark O'Hara missed out through suspension, while Jonah Ayunga was ruled out due to a knock. That meant Greg Kiltie and Eamonn Brophy came into the starting eleven.
Saints were up against it early on with Erhahon shown a straight red card on seven minutes after catching Rory McKenzie on the face with his arm. The manager made a change in response to going down to 10 men with Alex Gogic coming on in place of Brophy.
Despite playing with a man less the Buddies were coping well and had the first real opportunity of the match with Curtis Main firing wide on 21 minutes after a neat passage of play.
Trevor Carson was called into action for the first time just before the half hour mark when he made a terrific save to turn Blair Alston's effort round the post. A minute later Saints weren't too far away with Keanu Baccus flashing a volley wide from 20 yards.
Saints fought away well in the opening 10 minutes of the second 45 with Kilmarnock goalkeeper Sam Walker blocking well with his feet to turn away Ryan Strain's low ball in from the right. A minute later Baccus passed up a big opportunity after being found by Main in the middle of the Killie box, but he got the shot wrong and sclaffed wide.
The game was very much in the balance and Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes responded by bringing on ex-Saint Jordan Jones in place of Blair Alston on 63 minutes.
The home side were seeing more of the ball as they looked to capitalise on the man advantage but Carson was relatively untested heading into the final 15 minutes. Stephen Robinson brought Ryan Flynn on for Kiltie on 78 minutes.
Carson was called into action with less than 10 minutes remaining with the Northern Ireland international making a brilliant two-handed save to push Christian Doidge's header over the bar from point blank range.
Trevor Carson made a point-blank save to deny Christian Doidge (Image: David Henderson)
Another two changes were made with Joe Shaughnessy and Alex Greive entering the fray for Saints on 84 minutes and heading into the final moments it was the latter who could have won it for the Buddies. Scott Tanser's corner was cleared but Marcus Fraser got the ball back into the area where it found substitute Alex Greive, but the New Zealand forward blazed inches over the bar.
Full-Time: Kilmarnock 0-0 St Mirren
St Mirren: Carson, Fraser (c), Gallagher, Dunne, Strain (Shaughnessy 84), Baccus, Kiltie (Flynn 78), Erhahon, Tanser, Brophy (Gogic 15), Main (Greive 84)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Reid, F.Taylor, Olusanya
Kilmarnock: Walker, Mayo, A.Taylor (c), Wright (Murray 75), Chrisene, Armstrong, Alston (Jones 63), Polworth, McKenzie, Robinson (Shaw 90), Doidge
Subs Not Used: Hemming, Stokes, Waters, McInroy, Lyons, Wales
Referee: Grant Irvine
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Andy Milne
Fourth Official: Stewart Luke
VAR: Gavin Duncan
Assistant VAR: Gary Hilland
Attendance: 7,008 (1,476 St Mirren supporters)
| 06/01/2025 | 10:00-14:00 |
| 07/01/2025 | 10:00-14:00 |
| 08/01/2025 | 10:00-14:00 |
| 09/01/2025 | 10:00-14:00 |
| 10/01/2025 | 10:00-14:00 |
| 11/01/2025 | 11:00-15:00 |
| 12/01/2025 | CLOSED |
| Call | 0141 840 6120 |
