Firstly I hope this statement finds you and your loved ones well and thank you to all of you who have emailed me so far to offer your services and time supporting St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation and all of our community partners delivering essential outreach services going forward. You will all receive an email from Gayle this afternoon with additional information on where your help can be utilised.

These are indeed unprecedented times and this ever changing landscape we currently all find ourselves in has provided us with many challenges. These challenges have forced us to be innovative, creative and most importantly to keep in the forefront of our minds those who are the most vulnerable and will be greatly affected by the current restrictions placed on our society due to COVID-19.

Further to in depth discussions with the team on every program we currently deliver we have decided to make the following changes in how we provide these services and engage with the community in a safe and responsible manner going forward.

Our Football Memories program for those with various stages of dementia are clearly our most vulnerable group and as such all in-house sessions have been cancelled. We will be working with our community partners on this to provide online engagement and additional practical support to tackle isolation and provide essential supplies to each member of the group and their families.

As you know our Paisley Men’s shed have temporarily closed their doors this week until further notice. The shedders have full support from Star Project and they are now fully focused on volunteering in the community to support Star’s contingency plan as are we.

Our Buds In Bootcamp and Football Fans In Training groups had their last in-house sessions this week, from Monday 23rd March we will continue to provide full support and delivery online with live streaming of home workouts and pre-filmed seminars covering each weeks educational content. We will provide additional support via email, phone, WhatsApp and social media groups to tackle isolation, provide motivation and information on essential services at this time.

Our Future Entrepreneurship and 4-4-2 literacy programs would normally be delivered to children at the stadium and in local primary schools and libraries. These sessions have now been postponed and we are discussing innovative ways we can provide online tasks/challenges and competitions to those children and groups and have the players from both St Mirren FC Men’s & Women’s teams take part and support.

Lastly, our children’s community football programs from schools coaching sessions, Saturday Saints, Football camps & parties to Panda Club are now cancelled on a face-to-face basis.

With the schools closing tomorrow we know exactly how much pressure this places families within our community under and how more engagement rather than less is essential. From Mon 23rd March we will post up on social media & YouTube daily online challenges from coaching skills & drills which can be done utilising household items such as keepy uppy, FIFA and ball skill challenges.

We will have art projects, reading & poetry competitions, educational projects, dance offs, musical performances, family based challenges where guardians must get involved and many more. We will endeavour to be as creative and supportive as we can from an engagement and communication point of view. The club are providing full support on this and the players from both teams will participate in challenges and send messages of support to children and families taking part, it’s a team effort.

We are well aware of the many wonderful organisations within Renfrewshire currently providing essential services at this time and rather than mimic what they are already doing well & thus effectively producing a diluted version of these services, we have decided to pool our resources and provide our support across the board where we can.

With this in mind, we are supporting Star Project, our Paisley Men’s Shed partner, with their extensive contingency plan. I will post up information on Star’s community outreach services and the relevant document for anyone wishing to register as a volunteer and deliver emergency food parcels, medications etc this afternoon.

We will also be providing full support to Renfrewshire Foodbank in the coming weeks/months and will post up information on this next week.

We are currently looking for additional food partners and only this afternoon took delivery of fresh produce and food stuffs kindly donated by Manorview Leisure.

There are many in ways in which we can all help make a difference during this time from befriending calls to those who are isolated to becoming a pen pal and writing a letter of support. The delivery of essential medications and food stuffs is vital but most importantly it’s time to see people. This is the time to really look at those who may be struggling financially, who may be hungry, who have no families, who may be mentally completely overwhelmed and to show that we care, we are all part of the same community and we are all in this together.

Please keep checking our social media posts and the club website for regular updates and more information on both our own programs plus additional services being provided throughout Renfrewshire.

We are available by email at gayle.brannigan@stmirren.com and foundation@stmirren.com or you can call us for more details on 0141 889 2558 ext 6124.

Thank you in advance for your unwavering and continued support. Hopefully it won’t be long before all of this is a distant memory, but for the time being, take care of yourselves and each other.

As a responsible employer St Mirren Football Club continues to follow guidance from the Government and the Scottish Football Joint Response Group with regards to the coronavirus pandemic.

The SPFL Board yesterday confirmed that all Ladbrokes League fixtures are postponed pending any Government order and/or further direction from the Scottish FA. You can read the Scottish Football Joint Response Group’s latest statement here.

In order to protect club staff and our supporters we feel that we have no option but to close the stadium to the public from today, Tuesday March 17th, and encourage our staff to work from home until further notice.

The club shop and St Mirren airdome will also be closed with all airdome lets cancelled as of now. Unless we receive any official advice that changes these arrangements we will review and update our decision every Tuesday on our website and on social media.

We will, of course, continue to communicate with our supporters through our website, social media and Buddievision and we will be trying to come up with different ways of filling the void created by this situation. We will be making access to Buddievision free until matches resume.

Supporters can still get in touch with us via email or by phone if necessary.

General Enquiries – info@stmirren.com – 0141-889-2558

Ticket Office – tickets@stmirren.com – 0141-840-6130

Commercial – commercial@stmirren.com – 0141-840-1337

Club Shop – shop@stmirrendirect.co.uk 

Anyone wishing refunds for Kilmarnock or Rangers match day tickets should email tickets@stmirren.com. If you have been unable to get to the stadium to claim a refund then please be assured that there will be no time limit on when you can claim. As soon as the ticket office physically re-opens we can process your refund.

Fans who wish to purchase anything from the club shop can still do so online. All orders will be processed and posted as quickly as possible.

The commercial department will remain open and supporters wishing to make contact are advised to email.

In line with Government policy, Street Stuff activities are currently running as normal within the local communities. This will be reviewed and updated on a daily basis by Renfrewshire Council.

The St Mirren Charitable Foundation will keep people updated on their community support and program delivery through the club website and social media.

St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott added: "This is clearly an unprecedented situation we are facing and we will continue to follow advice given from the Government and the Joint Response Group.

"The club will monitor the situation on a weekly basis and will provide regular updates on stmirren.com and through our social media platforms.

"While the club will take a hit financially, I’d like to assure all our fans that, thanks to their support over the last four seasons, we are in a strong position to get through this difficult time and with your continued support and understanding we will see this through.

"Until we have clear advice on whether the rest of the season will continue or be brought to an end we cannot comment further.

"As a club and in partnership with Street Stuff and the St Mirren Charitable Foundation we are looking at ways we can help those in need at this time. We are unsure what form that will take as the information on the control of the virus changes on a daily basis and we cannot put anyone at risk.

"If anyone is interested in volunteering to help in whatever form that might take can you please email your contact details to gayle.brannigan@stmirren.com and state whether you have your own transport or not.

"Thank you."

All airdome bookings and activities will go ahead as planned this weekend.

This includes private lets and the St Mirren Charitable Foundation's Saturday Saints.

If anything changes we will communicate it via stmirren.com.

The Scottish FA has announced that the 2019/20 season has been suspended until further notice due to the ongoing situation with coronavirus. 

As a result, the SPFL has postponed this weekend's fixtures meaning our match against Kilmarnock tomorrow will not go ahead.

While regrettable, the club fully respects this was the only decision that could be taken as it is imperative that we protect the health and well-being of supporters, staff and players. 

With respect to any ticket sales and hospitality bookings we would ask that supporters remain patience as we await a decision being reached regarding the remainder of the season. The St Mirren Ticket Office will be closed on Monday.

The SFA and SPFL will continue to liaise with governments and UEFA in relation to domestic, European and International fixtures in the coming days and more information will be communicated at the appropriate time.

The SFA and SPFL Joint Response group statement can be read here.

We encourage everyone to follow general cold and flu precautions to help prevent catching and spreading COVID-19. 

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
• Put used tissues in the bin straight away
• Wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. See hand washing guidance
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
• do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus such as a high temperature and new continuous cough should self-isolate for seven days. To find out more on the government's advice for people who have or may have coronavirus please click here.

* Students must show a valid matriculation card when purchasing concession tickets.

 Wheelchair/ambulant disabled fans will be charged at the appropriate price above with the carer getting admission free of charge.

Tickets for this match are on sale from the St Mirren Ticket Office up till 2:00pm on Friday 13th March.

An away supporters outlet at Rugby Park will open 1 hour prior to kick off, this will be cash only sales. The outlet will be located on Rugby Road across from the away support turnstiles where the old fitness centre used to be.

Supporters are advised to pre purchase from the St Mirren Ticket Office where possible but if purchasing from the Kilmarnock outlet on the day of the match you should arrive in plenty of time to avoid queues.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours in the build up to this match are as follows:

Fri, 13th Mar: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Sat, 14th Mar: CLOSED

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

On Saturday (14th March), St Mirren make the short trip to Ayrshire to face Kilmarnock in a Ladbrokes Premiership match-up at Rugby Park.

The referee on Saturday is Colin Steven and he will be assisted by Daniel McFarlane and David Doig. The Fourth Official will be Greg Aitken.

Please note that the drum will be permitted entry as long as Kilmarnock are allowed to search it and it also must be of a size that can be comfortably fitted through a turnstile.

Regarding flags, Kilmarnock allow banners to be fastened to unused blocks of seating, however, they are not permitted entry if on sticks or without proof of a fire retardant label.

Tickets are on-sale for St Mirren's trip to Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership this Saturday (14th March).

St Mirren fans will be housed in Block 2 & 3 of the Chadwick Stand at Rugby Park.

The match and tickets info is as follows:

Kilmarnock vs St Mirren
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Date: Saturday 14th March 2020
Kick-off: 3:00pm

Prices

Adult - £22

Concession (Over-65/U21/students*) - £17

Under-16 - £5

* - Students must show a valid matriculation card when purchasing concession tickets.

Wheelchair/ambulant disabled will be charged at the appropriate price above with free carer.

Please note that the drum will be permitted entry as long as Kilmarnock are allowed to search it and it also must be of a size that can be comfortably fitted through a turnstile.

Regarding flags, Kilmarnock allow banners to be fastened to unused blocks of seating, however, they are not permitted entry if on sticks or without proof of a fire retardant label. 

The Ticket Office hours for the remainder of the week are as follows:

Thu, 12th Mar - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Fri, 13th Mar - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Sat, 14th Mar - CLOSED
Sun, 15th Mar - CLOSED

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com

The Panda Express is ready for its latest outing as we head to Ayrshire for another crucial game against Kilmarnock on 14th March departing the Simple Digital Arena at 1:30pm.

The bus is priced at £6 per head and includes crisps and juice as well as the chance to win donuts in our first goal scorer competition and a signed shirt and ball in our free raffle.

To book contact colin.bright@stmirren.com. 

St Mirren moved up to ninth in the Ladbrokes Premiership and six points away from bottom after a deserved 1-0 win over Hearts at the Simple Digital Arena.

Jon Obika's 12th goal of the season at the beginning of the second-half was enough to secure an important three points for Jim Goodwin's men.

The Buddies started with intent with Akin Famewo knocking just wide after swinging his foot at a Cammy MacPherson corner in the fourth minute. 

Sam Foley almost grabbed the opener on 10 minutes after good work from Alex Jakubiak on the right saw the striker cut the ball back across the box. The Hearts defence couldn't deal with the danger and sent it as far as Foley who put his effort over.

Four minutes later it was Ilkay Durmus who almost opened the scoring after strong play down the left-hand side. The winger knocked the ball beyond a Hearts defender and swung a cross in from the byline that almost caught out Jambos goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal who had to tip over. From the resultant corner Loic Damour did well to block as he denied Calum Waters' goal-bound piledriver from 20 yards.  

Still Saints pressed for the first goal and could have had it on 23 minutes had Obika got anything on a wonderful Ross Wallace cross.

Hearts had their first real opportunity on 25 minutes when Aaron Hickey had a go from distance but Vaclav Hladky was down well to gather. A minute later Sean Clare managed to get his head onto a Michael Smith cross from the right but nodded well over. 

Saints were dealt a major blow at the half-hour mark when Conor McCarthy went down near the half-way line clutching his left hamstring. The defender initially looked like he may have been okay to continue after returning to his feet but again went down and had to be replaced by Jamie McGrath with Sam Foley moving into centre-half.

The Buddies almost had the lead with five minutes of the first-half remaining. Jakubiak's cut-back found its way to the oncoming MacPherson who smashed towards goal only for Zlamal to somehow block and send over. The resultant corner eventually found its way to Durmus at the far end of the box but the Turkish winger put it just over.

Hearts made a change at the break with Daniel Stendel bringing on Liam Boyce in place of Clare. But it was Saints who started the brighter and had their reward on 48 minutes as Obika netted the opener. Wallace intercepted the ball deep in the St Mirren half and sent a sensational long ball forward that found a galloping Obika as he burst through on goal. The forward did so well to hold off challenges from Clevid Dikamona and Craig Halkett before slotting beyond Zlamal for his 12th goal of the season and his seventh of 2020.

The Buddies almost grabbed a second quickly after with Zlamal having to deny Jakubiak. McGrath picked the ball up in middle of the park, knocking beyond Dikamona and Hickey, before sliding through to Jakubiak whose low drive across the face was touched wide by the Jambos goalkeeper Zlamal.

The Buddies were forced into another change on 55 minutes when MacPherson pulled up and had to be seen by the physio. The midfielder had to be replaced by Tony Andreu.

As if Saints luck with injuries wasn't bad enough, Jim Goodwin was forced into a third substitution on 70 minutes when Durmus had to come off.

As was probably expected in the final throes of the match, Hearts were having most of the pressure but were failing to create anything. But with 10 minutes to go, the Jambos had a glorious chance to find an equaliser when Smith rolled a low ball across the face of the Saints box where it fell kindly for Lewis Moore. It looked like Moore would slide home from close-range but it came off his knee and behind for a goal kick.

With six additional minutes to be played, St Mirren had a great opportunity to kill the game off on the counter only for Jakubiak's attempted pass to Obika being cut out by the Hearts defence.

In the final seconds Hearts sent goalkeeper Zlamal up for a corner but the delivery was poor allowing the Saints defence to clear with referee Alan Muir blowing his whistle to signal the end of the match and what could prove to be a massive three points for Jim Goodwin's men.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-0 Hearts

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy (McGrath 31), Famewo, Waters, Wallace, MacPherson (Andreu 55), Foley (c), Durmus (McAllister 70), Obika, Jakubiak
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Morias, Mullen, Chabbi

Hearts: Zlamal, Smith, Halkett, Dikamona, Hickey, Clare, Damour (Meshino 74), Moore, Bozanic (Irving 60), Naismith (c), Washington
Subs Not Used: Pereira, Walker, Langer, Henderson

Referee: Alan Muir
Assistant Referee: Graham Chambers
Assistant Referee: Joseph Lawson
Fourth Official: Kevin Graham

Attendance: 5,662 

A delighted Jim Goodwin gives his reaction as the Buddies moved up to ninth in the Ladbrokes Premiership with a 1-0 win over Hearts at the Simple Digital Arena.

First Scorer Competition

Paisley Panda is pleased to confirm that 'First Scorer' will be back for the game on Wednesday against Hearts.

'First Scorer' lets fans predict in advance of the game who they think will score St Mirren's first goal in Wednesday's match against the Jambos.

From all of those who guess correctly, a winner will be picked at random and they will win a box of a dozen doughnuts which will be delivered to their seat right after the goal is scored!

To enter all you have to do ahead of the game is post your prediction of the first St Mirren scorer on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #Saints1stgoal.

The lucky winner will then be contacted to confirm which stand they will be in with the row and seat number so that the prize can be delivered to them.

Man of the Match Vote

We are giving fans the opportunity to vote for the man of the match and also put two lucky fans in with the chance of winning a £10 voucher for the Club Shop.

Every home game we’ll throw open the voting on the 60 minute mark for 20 minutes where votes can be cast on Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do is use the hashtag #SMFCMOM followed by the name of the player you are voting for, eg '#SMFCMOM OBIKA'.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then the Stadium Announcer will confirm the winning player over the tannoy system.

From all the fans who nominate the winning player one will be picked at random from the Facebook account and another from the Twitter account and they will each be awarded a £10 voucher for the Club Shop. The winners will be notified through the account they posted from and they must collect their voucher immediately after the match.

So get yourself ready on the hour mark of Wednesday's match and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

The Panda Express is ready for its latest outing as we head to Ayrshire for another crucial game against Kilmarnock on 14th March departing the Simple Digital Arena at 1:30pm.

The bus is priced at £6 per head and includes crisps and juice as well as the chance to win donuts in our first goal scorer competition and a signed shirt and ball in our free raffle.

To book contact colin.bright@stmirren.com.