St Mirren welcomes home Pitch Pro Retail. The Club and Pitch Pro Retail have entered into a commercial partnership to provide the club shop and merchandising, along with delivering a positive and enjoyable customer experience to all. As St Mirren supporters and season ticket holders themselves, they are aware of the trust the club and fellow fans are installing in them to drive St Mirren’s shopping experience forward.

At the beginning of last season, with fan support more vocal than ever, the club vowed to continue in its efforts to progress the organisation’s infrastructure across all areas of the business. This partnership with Pitch Pro Retail is part of the overall commercial strategy and is the best way to ensure longevity of the club.

Saints fans have always proudly purchased club merchandise, memorabilia and clothing with the shop offering a wide variety of exciting ways to publicly showcase the support and love fans have for St Mirren. Moving forward, both parties want to ensure fans have an enjoyable customer interaction and a selection of dynamic, quality items, available to choose from.

The club and Pitch Pro Retail will step forward together to provide increased opening hours for the shop, match day access and invest in it's online shopping opportunities. The Club will never stop looking to build and progress St Mirren for our fans.

St Mirren Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: "We are excited to welcome Pitch Pro Retail back to St Mirren. As many will remember, the Provan family previously ran the club shop as Provan Sports Limited. They are committed to working with us to provide an enhanced service for our supporters as we build on the progress we have made over the last year. The commercial benefits of this new partnership are also significant for the club and we look forward to working with Pitch Pro Retail from the 1st July."

Supporters may recognise that while this is a fresh and new partnership, the connection with St Mirren is rooted in the history of Pitch Pro Retail. 

Director and Head of Pitch Pro Retail, Alan Provan, said: "In the early 2000s, the club was at the heart of our first venture into kit supply and retail management as we transitioned from our original high street sports shops. While we’ve grown since we last managed the shop in 2014, to be back in Paisley is a source of immense pride for all involved at Pitch. We can’t wait to get started and deploy our expertise to grow and improve the retail operation at St Mirren."

Jim Goodwin aims to add at least another five players to his squad following the signing of Charles Dunne last night.

The Irish defender became Saints’ first signing of the summer when he agreed a two-year deal with the Buddies.

The manager was delighted to add Charles to the squad and now hopes to press on with getting more in the door with a number of players on the radar.

Speaking to stmirren.com, Jim said: "We have been speaking to agents for a number of months.

"We have been making contact with a number of people. You would like things to happen yesterday, but unfortunately there is a process in place where those players we are linked with are good players and have other options with other clubs, so we just have to be a little bit patient.

"We are working tirelessly behind the scenes and we would probably like to add, along with Charles, another five to the current squad. If we can get the ones I’ve identified in then we will be in a great position come the start of the season."

The manager also confirmed that contract negotiations are ongoing with Dylan Connolly with the hopes of an agreement next week, while a contract offer remains on the table for Jake Doyle-Hayes.

"Dylan enjoys it here and he has played some of the best football of his career last season in a number of games. I have a good working relationship with Dylan I think he sees the potential to develop here."

"I’m quite honest and frank in the discussions with him in terms that he still has a bit to improve, but I think Dylan can recognise the benefits of being here and playing in our team. He just needs to add a bit more consistency to his game for me, but yeah hopefully we will get that one over the line early next week."

One player who won’t be at the club next season is Ilkay Durmus with the manager confirming the Turkish winger’s exit following the expiry of his contract.

"Ilkay has decided that he wants to go home and it’s unlikely that he will be in Scotland at the start of next season. He certainly won’t be wearing a St Mirren strip unfortunately.

"He’s done great for me for the last couple of seasons and I wish him well wherever he ends up."

Jim’s full interview is available now on St Mirren TV with the manager also discussing the international call-ups for Jamie McGrath, Ethan Erhahon & Daniel Finlayson as well as Saints’ Premier Sports Cup draw.

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce that Charles Dunne has become our first signing of the summer after the defender agreed a two-year deal with Saints subject to clearance.

Dunne joins the Buddies following the expiry of his contract at fellow Scottish Premiership side Motherwell.

The 28-year-old, born in England but capped by Republic of Ireland at U21 level, began his career at Wycombe Wanderers and subsequently had spells at Blackpool, Crawley Town and Oldham Athletic before moving North of the border to join Motherwell in 2017.

In his first season at Steelmen, Dunne featured in both the League and Scottish Cup finals while making 78 appearances in his four years at Fir Park.

Speaking to stmirren.com on the move, Saints manager Jim Goodwin said: "I’m delighted to finally get Charles over the line.

"It’s one we’ve been working on for a number of months now. He’s had a number of other options on the table, but I’m delighted he sees his future here at St Mirren.

"We’ve been short of natural left-sided defenders in the last season and Charles plays that role really well. He’s got pace, he’s got power, he’s very good on the ball, he suits the way we want to play and he’s a really good character as well.

"People might look at the last 12 months or so with the lack of game time that he’s had and that’s solely down to a bit of bad luck on the injury front. But he’s fully recovered now, and he’s done a thorough medical with our physio Kevin Bain so there’s absolutely no concerns with Charles’ fitness going forward."

Picture courtesy of Jeff Holmes

2020/21 Season

2020/21 was truly a season like no other.

While fans were unable to attend, we felt your support from home, and have gone from strength to strength - completing our most successful top-flight season in over 30 years.

Read more about the 2020/21 season here.

International Recognition

It was great to see both Jamie McGrath, Ethan Erhahon and Daniel Finlayson receive international call-ups last week.

Jamie, who had a terrific season for Saints which saw him win our official Player of the Year award after scoring 17 goals, could earn his well-deserved first cap for the Republic of Ireland this Thursday as they face Andorra in a friendly.

Ethan and Daniel could also face off against each other when Scotland U21s take on Northern Ireland U21s at the Oriam.

We are immensely proud to see players earning international recognition and wish our lads all the best during their time away.

U18s

Our U18s came within a whisker of winning the Club Academy Scotland Elite U18s league – losing to eventual winners Rangers on the final day of the season.

Despite just missing out the U18s have really impressed in their league this season and should take heart from how well they have played this season.

The St Mirren Youth Academy continues to be a vital pillar of the club with academy players Lewis Jamieson, Jay Henderson and Dylan Reid all making their debuts for the first-team last season and the likes of Ethan Erhahon, Kyle McAllister and Cammy MacPherson all playing regularly.

St Mirren Training Ground

A joint initiative between the Club, SMiSA and Kibble to improve the facilities at the St Mirren Training Ground is now underway.

Following on from the upgrade of the Academy building this season, work has now begun on upgrading the training pitch and first team buildings at Ralston to provide an enhanced, fit-for-purpose training and working space.

The training pitch will be redeveloped to provide a surface complementary to the style of football the team play.

The building itself will have new custom designed dining area, gym and changing room facilities, alongside new office space for the coaching staff and a modern external finish to the building to complement the internal development.

The Club view investment in the Academy and Training round as key to the future success of the both the first team and all academy teams. SMiSA, who will become the majority shareholder in the summer, have supported to the cost of the internal renovation, while Kibble and their KibbleWorks team will carry out the maintenance work over the coming weeks.

The support and investment from two of St Mirren’s major shareholders coupled with the investment from the Club, continues the commitment everyone has to drive St Mirren forward.

Strategic Partnerships

As announced last week, the club has entered new strategic partnerships with Birkenhead United and Nelson Suburbs from New Zealand.

These partnerships, coupled with similar agreements with Rosario YFC in Northern Ireland and Para Hills Knights SC in Australia, are a big part of our vision to grow the St Mirren brand worldwide.

Club Licensing

The club was pleased to have been granted both a Gold licence and a UEFA Licence, this shows the continued growth and hard work of those behind the scenes in supporting the ambitions of the Club.

Season tickets

We thank all supporters for the loyalty and patience as we prepare for next season. We are still in the process of finalising details for 2021/2022 season tickets and we will be releasing an update next week.

And finally

I would like to say a big thank you everyone who has supported the club over the last year - from our fans, sponsors, players, staff, directors, volunteers all the way through to our beloved Paisley Panda.

I would also like to say a thank you and good luck to the players who have now moved on from St Mirren. Whilst their contributions to the club were all different, we’re grateful to them for playing their part at the club. I would like to make a special mention to Jon Obika who scored 20 goals in his two seasons at St Mirren and engaged brilliantly with our all aspects of our club.

We are working hard in the background to add to the squad and hope to be able to announce some new signings very soon.

With the Premier Sports Cup fixtures being announced this afternoon we now have our first home fixture in the diary as we host Dunfermline at the SMiSA Stadium on Tuesday 13th July. I think I speak for everyone when I say we are excited about the prospect of having our supporters back in the stadium for the first time since March 2020. Football has not been the same without you and we cannot wait for you to return.

St Mirren's fixtures for the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup have been announced this afternoon.

Saints will begin the 2021/22 campaign away to Dumbarton on Saturday 10th July. 

Jim Goodwin's men will then host Championship side Dunfermline at the SMiSA Stadium on Tuesday 13th July before facing Stenhousemuir at Ochilview a week later.

The Buddies close out the cup campaign at home to Partick Thistle on Sunday 25th July live on Premier Sports.

The format sees all drawn group stage matches go straight to a penalty shoot-out with the winners earning an extra 'bonus point' in addition to the traditional point given for a draw.

Group winners will qualify for the round of 16. They will be joined by the the three best runners-up along with Rangers, Celtic, Hibernian, Aberdeen and St Johnstone.

St Mirren Football Club are currently looking to recruit community coaches to assist with the delivery of the Multi-Award winning Street Stuff summer programme of activities.

If you are aged 16+ and have experience in coaching sport or community youth initiatives then we would like to hear from you.

For further information send your C.V. to stephen.gallacher@stmirren.com

Street Stuff is a partnership programme with Renfrewshire Council, St Mirren Football Club, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and Engage Renfrewshire.

Daniel Finlayson has been named in the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad for their double header against Scotland next month. 

The 20-year-old could come up against teammate Ethan Erhahon who was called up to the Scotland U21s for the same set of matches.

Everyone at St Mirren is delighted for Daniel and wish him all the best in his time away.

St Mirren will face Dunfermline Athletic, Stenhousemuir, Partick Thistle and Dumbarton in Group H of the 2021/22 Premier Sports Cup group stage.

Saints were top seeds in the South Section of this afternoon's draw.

Group winners will qualify for the round of 16. They will be joined by the the three best runners-up along with Rangers, Celtic, Hibernian, Aberdeen and St Johnstone.

Fixtures dates and venues will be confirmed in due course.

Group stage games are scheduled for the weekend of July 10/11, midweek of July 13/14, weekend of July 17/18, midweek of July 20/21 and weekend of July 24/25 subject to live TV selections.

St Mirren Football Club can officially announce that we have agreed strategic partnerships with both Birkenhead United and Nelson Suburbs in New Zealand.

The collaboration between the clubs will see the exchange of players and coaches as well as sharing of resources and expertise to enhance all parties.

Academy tours & tournaments will also take place when safe to do so in conjunction with the club’s official travel partners, inspiresport.

As St Mirren look to grow the brand globally, Birkenhead United and Nelson Suburbs become the latest clubs to partner with Saints, following similar agreements with Northern Irish side Rosario YFC and Australians Para Hills Knights SC.

St Mirren Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: "We are delighted to officially become strategic partners with Birkenhead United and Nelson Suburbs.

"We believe that these partnerships will bring significant benefits on the field in terms of talent recruitment, as well as commercially and operationally as we share our knowledge and resources.

"The partnerships are a key part of our vision in growing the St Mirren brand and expanding our footprint worldwide. We are very much looking forward to working with Birkenhead United and Nelson Suburbs."

David Williams from Birkenhead United said: "The opportunity to partner with a professional club enables a number of new outcomes for Birkenhead United.

"We are further enabled on a journey to improve the level and quality of coaching we can provide to our community, to both the participation and elite groups.

"For any player with an aspiration to an elite or professional career in football the opportunity offered by this partnership becomes an explicit part of an attraction and recruitment policy for us."

"We believe that this formal partnership, at a club level, can only be a positive for both NZ Football as a whole, raising the profile of football both within and outside the borders, and for the potential opportunity for representative players into the future."

Gary Booth from Nelson Suburbs said: "Developing a pathway for growth and resource sharing between our club and a club of St Mirren’s stature is exciting for Nelson Suburbs.

"We believe it will be hugely beneficial for our players, managers and coaches to be able to share knowledge and learn from a leading Scottish Premiership club and it can only strengthen and add value to our club.

"Nelson Suburbs sees this partnership as a way to support young, kiwi players as they transition overseas, giving them a European platform and environment to acclimate and train and play at a professional level. It also serves as a platform to showcase the standard and quality of New Zealand players to the rest of Europe."

2020/21 has been a once in a lifetime season.

The SMiSA stadium may have been quieter but the support surrounding St Mirren has been deafening. With your unwavering commitment and dedication to the club, we have gone from strength to strength and completed our most successful top-flight season in over 30 years.

You are the reason we have accomplished many milestones this past year. 

#BeInThatNumber

In a season like no other, we asked you to #BeInThatNumber and stand with the club while the world faced the unknown. More than 3,400 of you generously purchased season tickets as well as pay-per-view packages for home matches. The release of our home and away kits was a huge success, as both sold in large numbers.

Fans also came together to support the charitable foundation’s efforts to care for the wider community.

As a thank you, the club set out to find a way to reward fans and add excitement and hope to the anticipated return of football. We introduced a prize draw and presented lucky fans with incredible, once in a lifetime experiences.

Christie Wishart won lunch with the gaffer and a player of her choosing. James McCulloch was awarded the iconic number of 1877 and will have the West Stand named after him in his honour for one match. Emily Keane and Grace Keane will be our new stadium announcers for one game and Gary Montgomery will attend a match with our Chief Executive, Tony Fitzpatrick, while Ryan Watson was one of the first to own the new home shirt.

Due to covid restrictions, many of these prizes are still to be redeemed but will be done so when safe.

On The Field

The Saints on the pitch were determined to give the fans a season to remember even if they couldn’t be in the stands to cheer the players on. It was the backing from the supporters that helped us achieve our highest top-flight finish since 1989. 

Our points tally of 45 points was also the highest achieved by St Mirren in the top-flight since 1925/26.

The team reached the semi-finals of both the League and Scottish Cups – becoming the first St Mirren side to do so since 1981/82.

We won at Celtic Park for the first time since 1990 and in the process became the only team to defeat both Celtic and Rangers this season.

We became the first side to defeat Rangers in the 2020/21 season and remained the only side domestically to have beaten the Ibrox side in 90 minutes.

Academy Players Standout

This season we experienced the debuts of academy players Lewis Jamieson, Jay Henderson and Dylan Reid, who became the youngest ever Saint and starter in the Scottish Premiership.

The club was able to reward Jay Henderson with a new two-year contract whilst also fighting off competition from the likes of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Celtic, Rangers and a host of teams down south to retain the services of Dylan Reid.

Academy graduates Cammy MacPherson, Ethan Erhahon and Kyle McAllister continued to develop and dominate on the pitch - with Ethan being named as the club’s official Young Player of the Year for the second time.

Welcoming New Talent

Throughout the season fans stood shoulder to shoulder with the team and demonstrated their unrelenting commitment to the club.

The knowledge that fans were full behind us, gave us the confidence and ability to improve the first-team budget and bolster the squad with signings such as Jak Alnwick, Marcus Fraser, Richard Tait, Joe Shaughnessy, Daniel Finlayson, Dylan Connolly, Kristian Dennis, Lee Erwin and Eamonn Brophy. 

Team Stability

We backed our manager Jim Goodwin and rewarded him with a new three-year-deal.

Jim will continue to lead the team in the years to come and build on the existing progress made over the last two seasons. 

Next Up

As we move forward, we are determined to continue being a club you can believe in and trust. In the background, work is constantly being done to improve the infrastructure around the club and we hope to release news about season tickets and brand-new strips in the near future. Let a new era begin.

We will never stop trying to make our fans as proud of us, as we are of them.