St Mirren Football Club is delighted to welcome Clarke EPOS (UK) Ltd to our growing sponsorship family as the club’s new official back of the shirt sponsor.

The deal will see Clarke EPOS branding feature on the back of club shirts for seasons 2020/21 and 2021/22 as well as having its brand displayed in new pitch side advertising boards and the club’s official matchday programme.

Hugh Clarke, Managing Director of Clarke EPOS, said: "We are delighted to support St Mirren Football Club and look forward to a great working relationship with the club’s commercial team and partners."

ABOUT CLARKE EPOS UK LTD

Already trusted by thousands of retail and leisure businesses, Clarke EPOS is one of the fastest growing merchant services companies in the UK.

Anyone wishing to find out more Clarke's ePOS can download their digital brochure here.

Premier Sports will have live and exclusive UK coverage of the Betfred Cup Group G tie between St. Mirren and Greenock Morton this Wednesday, November 11th from 7.15pm.

The SMiSA Stadium is the venue for this clash as both sides have played two games each and three points will be crucial in qualifying for the second round.

Unlike the Partick Thistle match earlier in our Betfred Cup campaign, we are unable to show this match live to season ticket holders due to Premier Sports broadcasting agreement with the SPFL.

How to watch on TV in the UK

- Sky customers signing up at www.premiersports.com Premier Sports HD on channel 412. New customers can subscribe from just £9.99 per month with no connection fee or £99 annually. Premier Sports customers on Sky will also receive free access to the Premier Player by registering here - https://www.premierplayer.tv/subscribe/existing-customer

- Online (Web, iOS App, Android App): www.premierplayer.tv Premier Player from just £9.99 per month (or £99 annually) with no connection fee. If using App please set up account first on web browser before downloading the App.

- Virgin customers: Premier Sports channel 551. You can subscribe for £9.99 per month via the provider with no connection fee or minimum contract. Call 0845 840 7777 or set up viewing via box. (Press Home > Apps and Games > All Apps > TV Upgrades.)

Premier Sports offer paid subscription services. Payments for subscriptions to Premier Sports via Sky or the Premier Player streaming service will automatically recur monthly or annually dependent on your chosen package unless notice is given to cancel. The auto-recurring price will be at the standard rate. Cancelations must be made by phone or email and must include a minimum 5 days’ notice prior to next bill. No cancelations accepted within 48 hours of subscribing. Minimum Subscriptions period is dependant (and matches) your chosen package. Terms and Conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.premiersports.com

Full Terms and Conditions available at www.premiersports.com

Scottish Cup winning captian, Hall of Fame Inductee, and D-Day veteran. Remembering St Mirren legend David Lapsley (1924-2001).

Born on 7th April 1924, Davie had a modest upbringing on the outskirts of Falkirk showing the beginings of his mercurial talent for his school team. His prowess was quickly recognised at a national level, going on trial with the Scotland School Boys Team before signing for High Bonnybridge Rose, and later Bathgate Thistle in 1940.

Like many aspiring footballers of the time, his progression into the senior professional game was disrupted with the outbreak of the Second World War. He was called up to serve in the Royal Navy and was onboard a vessel that took part in the D-Day landings, carrying ammunition across the English Channel to France.

It was whilst he was still a serviceman that he signed for St Mirren following a famous trial that involved him taking penalty kicks. The accuracy and ferocity of his set piece technique became a hallmark of his playing style and as an attacking full back, would regularly find himself on the scoresheet. He would twice end up as the season’s top scorer at the club, a formidable achievement for a player in his position.

In total, Davie spent 13 years with the Buddies, and his place in history was cemented with the famous 3-1 victory over Aberdeen in the 1959 Scottish Cup Final. 108,000 supporters were at Hampden that day to see Davie captain the side.

Since penalty kicks were his speciality, and to mark his commitment to St Mirren throughout his career, his ashes were buried underneath the penalty spot at Love Street following his death in 2001. The council further honoured the legend by naming a street in Paisley 'Lapsley Avenue'.

His wartime experiences had helped mould him into someone that could lead the team to greatness, whilst maintaining his humility and deep sense of humour. Lapsley was inducted into the St Mirren Hall of Fame in 2005 having made a total of 393 appearances, scoring 54 goals.

David Lapsley was a remarkable character. The club are proud to show our support for the Scottish Poppy Appeal and remember him, and all players and supporters of the club, who have fought in conflicts on behalf of their country.

St Mirren were held to a goalless draw by Dundee United as the Buddies returned to action for the first time in almost a month. 

Jim Goodwin's men had the better of the 90 minutes but couldn't find the goal that would have given them a deserved three points during a foggy night in Paisley.

Saints were in control of the first half with the first real opportunity coming on 17 minutes. Debutant Brandon Mason, who joined up with the squad earlier this week, sent in a terrific ball from the left which found Jamie McGrath in space inside the United box. The midfielder got his shot away but it was deflected into the path of Richard Tait who looked certain to open the scoring but for a vital block from Dundee United defender Jamie Robson. 

For all of St Mirren's possession, it would take the home side until the 35th minute to create another good chance. Tait went so close when he got the slightest touch to Kristian Dennis' flick-on but knocked it wide of the United goal.

Saints started the second-half brightly with Mason sending an effort over the bar on 50 minutes before McGrath dragged a strike wide four minutes later. On 58 minutes it was Cammy MacPherson's turn to go close to breaking the deadlock, but the St Mirren Academy graduate curled wide from the edge of the area. Tait wasn't far away either three minutes later when he lashed a low drive just past the post. 

Jake Doyle-Hayes, making his first St Mirren appearance after completing his move to the Buddies earlier this week, had an opportunity with seven minutes remaining as he burst into the box and got his shot away only for it to be deflected wide. 

With time ticking away the Saints bench were furious when referee David Munro failed to point to the spot when substitute Jon Obika appeared to be clipped in the box by Paul McMullan. It wasn't St Mirren's night with Jim Goodwin's side settling for a point in Paisley.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Dundee United

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy, Tait, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, MacPherson (Obika 71), McGrath (Morias 80), Mason (Foley 80), Dennis (Erwin 58)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Sheron, Connolly, McAllister

Dundee United: Siegrist, Smith, Reynolds, Butcher, Robson, Edwards, Harkes (Powers 59), Bolton (McMullan 70), Pawlett (McNulty 59), Shankland, Clark
Subs Not Used: Mehmet, Sporle, Fotheringham, Appere, Neilson, Fuchs

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Graham Chambers
Assistant Referee: John McCrossan
Fourth Official: Alan Newlands

Saints are back in league action this evening as we host Dundee United at St Mirren Park for a Scottish Premiership match-up.

We have a limited edition run of programmes, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, for the behind closed doors Scottish Premiership fixture played on Friday 6th November.

This issue is a 32 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Lee Erwin.
Jim Goodwin - The St Mirren gaffer's thoughts on the matches since Saints' last home outing and his take on the upcoming fixture against United.
The Opposition – We run the rule over Micky Mellon's Dundee United side.
Game Rewind Gallery – A pictorial look back on the match played between Saints and United on Boxing Day 2013.
St Mirren Programme Archive - Derek Drennan reviews programmes that had inserts!
Centre Page Poster – Jak Alnwick.
Player Kit Sponsors 2020/21 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
Yesterday's Saints – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of John Miller.
Football Bloody Hell - Alan Gallacher previews the football documentary, 'The Three Kings'.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2020/21 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures and results for this season.
Team Lines – The two squads and match officials for Friday's match.

To buy this issue or to place your programme subscription for the 2020/21 season click HERE.

St Mirren’s home is being renamed The SMISA Stadium in a show of recognition for the club’s fans as they start the final countdown to becoming its majority owners in the summer.

The club is gifting the naming rights for St Mirren Park to the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMISA) for the rest of season 2020/21.

After that, the fans group will take its shareholding in the club to 51% by buying the club chairman Gordon Scott’s remaining shares.

The purchase had been due to complete by the end of 2021, but it has now been agreed this will happen sooner than planned – on a date to be decided in the summer.

And the club board has agreed the stadium-naming gesture to thank SMISA’s 1,150-plus members – whose monthly membership fees have been saved towards the share purchase since 2016 – for making that possible.

SMISA chair George Adam MSP said: "Our aim has always been the same – to see St Mirren stay forever at the heart of the Paisley community and in the hands of those who will care for it most.

"What better way to mark the ownership of the club moving into the hands of the fans than to put their name above the door?

"When we started off on the journey towards fan ownership five years ago we never expected to be in this position so soon – but the incredible commitment of our members made this possible. We are thrilled the club board have chosen to recognise SMISA members in this way."

The #BuyTheBuds deal had initially been expected to take ten years to complete but will be delivered in just five thanks to SMISA and St Mirren’s partnership with leading social enterprise and social care charity Kibble.

That partnership was overwhelmingly approved by SMISA’s members during a vote in February and is believed to be unique in Europe by making a charity the part-owners of a top-flight football club.

Kibble provide support services and commercial expertise to the club, while working with the club to creating job and training opportunities for the young people in their care.

Their purchase of some of Gordon’s shares reduced the sum SMISA needed to raise and means SMISA now expect by the summer to have banked the share purchase money plus a substantial cash reserve, which will help offer financial security to the club in future.

St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott added: "I always wanted to know I was handing over the ownership of the club to the fans when the time was right, and with the set-up we now have in place we believe that time will be in the summer.

"I and the rest of the board are delighted to be able to recognise the commitment of SMISA’s members over the past five years for making all of this possible.

"Sadly our fans can’t be in the stadium at the moment but we hope having SMISA’s name on the ground for the rest of the season shows how much we value them as the lifeblood and future of the club."

Kibble chief executive and St Mirren director Jim Gillespie, added: "With Kibble having been in Paisley for the best part of 200 years, our involvement with St Mirren helps bring together two of the town’s oldest institutions.

"But with SMISA taking on the majority shareholding, St Mirren’s future will be a fan-owned one. Kibble are delighted to be supporting that, and helping keep this club at heart of the community.

"SMISA’s members are the ones who made this happen and the stadium renaming is a great gesture to recognise them for their fantastic achievement."

For more information, see www.smisa.net

St Mirren make their return to action on Friday night as Saints host Dundee United at St Mirren Park in the Scottish Premiership.

The Buddies were last in action on 10 October when Jim Goodwin's men came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Queen of the South in the Betfred Cup. 

Saints last Scottish Premiership match came over a month ago when Saints were edged out by a last minute winner away to Aberdeen.  

Dundee United, meanwhile, come into Friday's match on the back of a 2-1 win over Ross County at Tannadice on Saturday. 

Mickey Mellon's side sit nine points ahead of Saints in sixth place, but have played three games more than the Buddies. 

Match Details

St Mirren v Dundee United
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Date: Friday 6th November 2020
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: St Mirren Park

Can I watch the match?

The match is available to all season ticket holders and international subscribers on St Mirren TV.

Non-season ticket holders and Dundee United supporters will be able to watch the match on PPV for £12.50 on ppv.stmirren.com. Former St Mirren goalkeeper Campbell Money will join match day host Ali De Foy.

Live coverage starts from 7:30pm. 

Manager's Thoughts

"We've got a fair idea of what to expect from Dundee United. I was at their game on Saturday against Ross County and they played really well. They are very well organised and Mickey Mellon has them working really hard.

"We're well aware of how dangerous Dundee United are on the attacking front, but we have to go into it with belief and confidence that we can cause them problems of our own and I believe we have the players within our ranks to do that. It should make for an entertaining game. 

"It's a fresh start for us. We can't affect what's happened and everyone knows we've had a tough time as of late. But there's a real air of excitement this week to be back at it and everyone is really looking forward to Friday night."

Previous

St Mirren have already faced Dundee United this season with the Buddies losing 2-1 at Tannadice in September.

Goals from Lawrence Shankland and Adrian Sporle either side of half-time gave United a 2-0 lead. Despite being reduced to 10 men after Richard Tait was sent off, Saints pulled a goal back through Dylan Connolly but were unable to find an equaliser. 

St Mirren came out on top, on penalties, when Dundee United last visited St Mirren Park in the Scottish Premiership play-offs in May 2019. 

Saints have won their last three league meetings against Dundee United at St Mirren Park winning 2-0, 3-0 and 3-2. 

Who are the officials?

David Munro is the referee on Friday. He is assisted by Graham Chambers and John McCrossan. Alan Newlands is the fourth official. 

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Jake Doyle-Hayes on a deal until the end of the season subject to international clearance.

The Irish midfielder joins the Saints following the expiry of his contract at English Premier League side Aston Villa.

Jake, who has been capped at U21 level for Republic of Ireland, joined Villa in 2014 after being spotted playing for a local side in Ireland.

During his time at the Villains he had loan spells at League Two sides Cambridge United and Cheltenham Town. It was at Cheltenham where Jake featured regularly – appearing 36 times for the Robins last season.

Jake will wear will the number 7 jersey after completing his move.

Speaking to stmirren.com, Jake said: "I've had a lot of interest during the window but when I heard St Mirren were interested it caught my attention straight away.

"I've followed the league and I liked how enthusiastic the manager was when we spoke. I was delighted with the interest and I wanted to get it done as soon as I could.

"All the lads have helped me settle in really quick and I've really enjoyed the first few days I've been here."

Following the SPFL decision to proceed with disciplinary proceedings against St Mirren, St Mirren can confirm they will defend this robustly.

St Mirren FC has announced two significant appointments as the club takes direct action to strengthen its approach to Covid-19 and Quality measures.

Following a number of positive cases which have resulted in the postponement of two SPFL fixtures, the club has appointed former Scottish Police Federation chairman Brian Docherty as its first safeguarding and quality manager, and has also retained one of the country’s foremost risk management experts, Dr Kevin Pollock, to review and enhance the club’s internal processes.

Club chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: “The postponement of our two games following positive tests amongst playing staff was disappointing. Everyone associated with the club has a paramount duty to do whatever it takes to make sure we absolutely minimize the risk of any infection.

"That’s why we have appointed Brian and Kevin, both of whom have close and longstanding links to the club, to help us tackle this continued very real risk to society and our club."

Brian is well known to the club, having joined St Mirren as a schoolboy, making a scoring first team debut at 17. After three seasons, he made the move to Arbroath as their club captain, following which he joined Strathclyde Police in 1983, taking up the position of chairman of the Strathclyde Police Federation in 2010.

In 2012 he was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Police Federation where he held responsibility for the terms and conditions of approximately 17,500 officers. Brian contributed to the development and implementation of Police Scotland’s new protocols. He has worked at a UK level and held responsibility for investigating the planning of major events with policing involvement and chaired UK wide meetings to develop strategy and implementation of policy. He has contributed to the work of the European Policing Organisation, Eurocop, assessing issues impacting on UK and European policing, ensuring overall compliance with health and safety, employment law and employment and diversity protocols. Brian brings a wealth of knowledge to the club in areas such as policy management and stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, crisis communication and crisis management.

Lifelong St Mirren Fan Dr Kevin Pollock is one of the UK’s foremost experts in the fields of risk management and business continuity, with extensive experience in managing challenging incidents and joins the club in a consultancy role to review and enhance its processes in helping to address Covid-19.

He has designed, implemented, and embedded successful organisational resilience programmes incorporating risk, crisis, and business continuity and was commissioned by the UK Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat to research lessons from UK emergencies and major incidents. He is an independent consultant at Pollock Ferguson Resilience and an Academic Fellow at the UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College.

Kevin has also lectured at Glasgow Caledonian University and was Assistant Professor of Policing and Security, Rabdan Academy, UAE.

Tony added: "These two senior appointments significantly strengthen the infrastructure within the club and will enhance our capabilities. Every single member of staff at the club, at all levels, knows that our approach to this challenge has to be as professional and robust as possible. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned and look forward to the contribution both Brian and Kevin will make."