It is hard to believe that it is almost 4 months since my last statement.
A lot has happened since my last update, not least the complete re-building of our squad in January.
The new players took a bit of time to settle but I think we can all see the progress that has been made and that we are coming good at the right time.
We have certainly had our challenges in our first season back in the top flight but I am looking forward to what is sure to be an exciting climax to the campaign. Our performances of late have given us all real hope that we can retain our Premiership place.
Oran, his backroom staff and his team have worked incredibly hard to get us moving in the right direction once again. For that we are all thankful and we should look forward to the remaining games with a justified sense of belief.
It would be nice to be able to sit back and relax over the last few games of the season but as Saints fans you will know this is very rarely the case. There have certainly been few dull moments over the last 3 seasons since we took over!
The South Stand
Having allocated the whole of the West stand to our own fans with such success in our Championship winning season we felt that we had to try to find a way to continue that arrangement in the Premiership.
We had to try and achieve that whilst still balancing the financial considerations of playing in a top flight where we are competing against other clubs who give over large areas of their stadium to big visiting supports.
As you know we took the decision to retain the use of W6 and W7 in the West Stand for home fans only for all games with Rangers and Celtic fans being allocated the South Stand in addition to the usual away end in the North Stand during their visits.
Whilst I appreciate this move caused disruption to our season ticket holders and supporters in the South Stand we have worked hard to ensure those fans requirements were met for the games in question through reduced ticket pricing and priority purchasing of re-allocated seats.
In short, the decision we took enabled us to increase our playing budget by 10% whilst also ensuring we retained the majority of seats for home fans and kept the West Stand exclusively for the use of St.Mirren supporters.
The competitive atmosphere in the first game against Celtic was fantastic and the gate that evening was as close to a sell out as we have been since we moved to the stadium back in 2009.
As a board we are unanimous that our ideal preference would be to retain the use of the South Stand for all our home matches exclusively for our own supporters, however, we also absolutely need to give ourselves the best chance of competing in this division.
Put bluntly, that additional playing budget could be the difference between survival and relegation.
Until such time as home ticket sales or better still season ticket sales dictate otherwise, we plan to continue with the arrangement we have had this season.
Our hope is that our own support continues to grow and we eventually get to a point where demand will dictate that we are able to return the South Stand to our own supporters for every single game.
The Kibble
We continue to develop our relationship with Kibble Group. Visually you will see that Kibble has advertising around the stadium, however, you won’t know that they are also sponsoring the club by using the dome for sport and physical education of the young people that Kibble look after and also the 1877 club for staff training during the week. We will continue to explore ways in which our mutual goals can be achieved.
Technical Director
In football we are always going to have a turnover in the managerial department whether that be as a result of success or failure.
From the experience we have had over the last 12 months in particular it was clear that we needed someone who would be a constant within the football side of the club. As a result of this we created the role of Technical Director and appointed Gus MacPherson to this position.
The role of Technical Director is constantly evolving.
We are creating a position that will not impact on the main role of the manager but one which will allow us to maintain continuity in the professional manner in which we run the day to day football side of our club.
We were already aware how important recruitment was in being successful and this season has absolutely confirmed that belief.
One of the key roles that the Technical Director will have will be in assisting the manager on all recruitment.
This January window was probably not a good example due to the number of players we had to bring in over a short period of time but hopefully you agree that the recruitment during that month has had a positive impact on the performance of the team.
Going forward we hope to create a much more settled squad where minimal changes are required each transfer window and where every player we bring in has been extensively scouted.
Saints for a day and first ever women’s match at the stadium
Saint for a day this year is on Sunday the 19th of May with a noon kick off. The bidding closes next Monday, May 5th at 5pm so there is still time to live the dream. There are still a couple of places left. Click here for details.
Immediately after this game there will be a bit of history created.
Our women’s team will play their first ever game at St Mirren Park with a 4pm kick-off against West Park FC.
Entry to this game will be free and we will be opening the main stand so come along and support the newest addition to the Saints family.
Further details will be released on our website and social media channels once the details have been fully confirmed.
UEFA European Women’s Under 19s Euros
In July this year we are hosting group matches, a Semi Final and the Final of the UEFA Woman’s Under 19 tournament.
We are delighted to continue our association with Scotland’s women’s football team at all levels and look forward to hosting the first ever European Final to be held at our stadium.
On a related note I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish the Scottish Women’s National Team every success at the World Cup in France in the Summer.
Saints Go Marching at Glasgow Kilt Walk
The St Mirren FC Community Trust has an amazing team of fundraisers taking part in the kilt walk this Sunday, April 28th. It is an excellent event with all money raised by our team 'Saints Come Marching In' helping towards funding the many community activities that the trust are now involved in. All funds raised are supplemented by a 40% donation from the Hunter Foundation so please click here and pledge your support now.
Support This Season
The support we have had in those last 3 seasons is something I have touched on many times in my statements. I hope it is always taken with the genuine sincerity intended.
It is easy to support a team when things are going well but the way you have got behind the side, even when things haven’t been going to plan, has been a massive positive.
The feeling around the club now is very similar to the one we had two years ago when we pulled off the great escape and hopefully we can reward that support with another positive outcome this time of asking.
There is no doubt in my mind that without the incredible support the fans have shown, and their unwavering positivity, we would have struggled to recover from the position we found ourselves in.
If we succeed in delivering our goal of staying in the Premiership a massive factor of that will have been your fantastic support.
We know we can count on you to get behind the team for our remaining fixtures so on behalf of everyone at the club, thank you.
COYS!!
