Now that the league campaign is underway I want to provide an update on behalf of the Board as we look forward to another exciting season.
2024/25 saw us achieve our highest points tally in the Premiership and a third successive Top Six finish. Whilst we just missed out on qualification for Europe, we should still feel rightly proud of this achievement. That success was only made possible by another massive team effort by everyone involved so I want to thank every fan, player, member of staff, sponsor, volunteer and Director for their contribution once again. When we all pull together in that way it's amazing what we can achieve. Thank you.
It was good to see the team negotiate the league stage of the League Cup and we have been rewarded with a fantastic home tie against Hearts. It's vital that we have the support of as many home fans as possible at the game to back the team. We have tried to keep ticket prices as low as is practical to encourage as many of you as possible to get along to support the players. Last year saw a continued increase in attendances at stadium and that support is greatly appreciated by the players, the staff and the Board. Lets keep the trend going.
Season Ticket sales are going well with over 4,000 sold already. The guaranteed income provided is really important to us in terms of our budget planning. Again I thank everyone who has bought a Season Ticket and if you haven't, it’s not too late. Thanks also to those who have bought Help a Buddie tickets in the past - in particular the guys from the Misery Hunters podcast and the Club 1877 members. Please consider buying a ticket. These tickets help those less fortunate in our community attend games and are an important part of our community outreach.
Although we have grown income at the club by almost 50% in the past four years, we still lag behind a number of our competitors in the Premiership. As a result, it is harder each year to make the investments in players and facilities to sustain our efforts to remain in the Top Six. Keith and Stephen do a remarkable job with the resources at their disposal. However, in practice, we set off each year aiming to break even with a number of challenges to balance the books. We’ve had to deal with significant increases in a number of our biggest costs such as National Insurance contributions, the Living Wage, power costs etc.
The Board are working hard with Keith and his small team to generate increased income/spend every penny wisely and we get invaluable support from SMiSA and Kibble in the shape of financial contributions, staff resources and skills. Without their help, the gap would be even wider.
What more can we do? Well, if we could increase SMiSA membership (currently around 1,400) that would enable them to provide even more financial support to the club. Whilst SMiSA membership has grown, it has not increased in line with attendances so I'd urge you to consider signing up and making the club we all love and support even stronger. To those who already contribute in this way I thank you sincerely.
In the close season we've made investments at the training ground to help players recover after matches as well as further improvements to the playing surfaces. Thankfully the weather has been much better this summer and Tommy and his team are very pleased with the quality of the pitches available to the team. At the stadium, the additional seats to restore our capacity to over 8,000 have been installed (Thanks to SMiSA for their support) and the refurbishment of Club 1877 is complete. I hope to be able to provide an update on the plans to replace The Dome and launch the preparations to mark the club's 150th Anniversary in the coming weeks.
I want to extend a warm welcome to the new players who have joined the squad. You will be part of a very special group of players backed by great fans. I wish you every success individually and as a team.
The same applies to our Women's team as they embark on another season. Our Women's Team and academy teams are back for the new season and ready to push for promotion. They're inspiring the next generation of girls to get into football - so I encourage you to get along on a Sunday, show your support, and be part of their journey this year.
It's also been great to see our partnerships with St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation and Street Stuff keeping hundreds of young people active, safe, and smiling across Paisley and Renfrewshire this summer. Community is at the heart of our club and through these partnerships, it's great to see so many local young people given opportunities to get involved, stay healthy, and have fun. Our partnership with Home-Start also continues to flourish. Your generous donations continue to make a real difference for so many families and youngsters.
Finally, I wish every success to the players we have out on loan across the leagues. The strategic partnerships we have announced with Dumbarton and Clydebank, together with some individual loan arrangements, will provide vital experience for these young players as we continue to develop their pathway to first team football. The work Allan, Keith and Stephen have been doing is starting bear real fruit in the shape of players breaking into our first team squad.
So, I hope you'll agree that we continue to make progress in delivering our strategy across all three pillars of Paisley, People and Performance - we couldn't have done that without your backing.
Thank you all once again for your fantastic support.
