St Mirren have a break from league action this week as they travel north tomorrow to take on Aberdeen in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

The Buddies will be looking to make an impression on the Premier League outfit, having extended their unbeaten run to seven, after last weeks 2-0 triumph away to Dumbarton, with in-form Cammy Smith netting the first, followed by captain Stephen McGinn's first goal of the season.

St Mirren will need to be at their very best as Aberdeen will be going into the game with confidence, as they currently hold second place in the Scottish Premiership; and having had their two week winter break, including a trip to Dubai, Derek McInnes' side will be fresh and raring to go in the more familiar Scottish climate. 

This will be the first time the two sides have met in three years since Saints dropped out of the Premiership in 2015, with the last encounter finishing 3-0 to the Dons, after a brace from Adam Rooney and the third headed in from Mark Reynolds. Both scorers could feature this time around also, with Rooney scoring the only goal in Aberdeen's last victory over Partick Thistle, winning 1-0 at the end of December.  

This could be the Saints fans first chance to catch a glimpse of their new signings. Creative midfielder Ryan Flynn, who was released from Oldham Athletic last week signed for St Mirren on Monday and midfielder Mark Hill who signed on loan until the end of the season from Celtic on Tuesday.

Saints progressed from the previous round after a resounding 7-1 victory away to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale with four goals from Gavin Reilly and a goal a piece for Lewis Morgan, Jack Baird and Cammy Smith. This will be Aberdeen's first tie this year and they will no doubt be on the hunt for Scottish Cup glory, having narrowly lost out to a last minute winner against Celtic in last year's final. 

It has been over a quarter of a century since either side won the coveted trophy, with St Mirren's last success coming in 1987 after Ian Ferguson's winner in extra time against Saints now league rivals, Dundee United.

Jack Ross and his side won a lot of plaudits for their performance in the tournament last year; in particular their gutsy effort against Celtic in the quarter final at Celtic Park, who then went on to win the tournament.

It is expected to be a tight affair with both teams flying high in their respective divisions. Kick off will be at 12.15PM and will be shown on BBC 1 Scotland for those not able to make the journey to Aberdeen. Whatever happens it will be a good test for Jack Ross and his team, and should hold them in good stead going forward for the rest of the season.  

* Concessions are for Juveniles aged 18-21, under 18s and over 65s

While this match will be pay-at-the-gate tickets can be bought in advance of the match from the St Mirren Ticket Office up till 2:00pm today (Friday 19th January).

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

Tomorrow, Saturday 20th January, St Mirren make the trip north-east to face Aberdeen in the 4th Round of the William Hill Scottish Cup at Pittodrie Stadium.

The referee tomorrow is Don Robertson and he will be assisted by Frank Connor and Willie Conquer. The Fourth Official will be David Lowe.

Pittodrie Stadium is located in the North part of the city (close to Old Aberdeen) and near to the coastline. It is close to the A956 King Street. Away supporter parking is mostly found to the South and East of the stadium. Parking restriction apply to many of the streets in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. Park and Ride facilities are available from various locations on the outskirts of the city, These would be mixed support.

North of City - Bridge of Don Park & Ride departs 45 minutes before kick-off and drops off at Ardarroch Road. Return journey leaves 10 minutes after full time; fare is 50p return pay the driver. The coach going to Bridge of Don leaves from the bus stop outside the graveyard on King Street.

South of City - Souter Head Road
Departs 60 minutes before kick-off and drops off at Ardarroch Road. Return journey leaves 10 minutes after full time; fare is £1.00 return pay the driver.

West of City - Kingswells Park & Ride
Service departs 60 minutes before kick-off and drops off at Ardarroch Road. Return journey leaves 10 minutes after full time; fare is £1.50 return pay the driver.

The coaches going to Kingswells & Altens leave from the bus stop on King Street at the top of Merkland Road East.

Aberdeen Train station is in the city centre and is about a 25 minute walk to the stadium. Regular buses run the route to the stadium and taxis are easily obtained.

Driving Directions

From The South:
Follow the A90 towards Aberdeen. Just South of Aberdeen join the A956. Stay on the A956 through Aberdeen crossing the River Dee and eventually you will come to Pittodrie on your right. Football traffic signs will assist buses, in particular, which are guided to the away bus parking area.

Over the course of the past 12 months, a lot has changed at St Mirren.

From bottom of the Championship, bordering on relegation to the third tier of Scottish football, to flying high at the top of the table.

Speaking to Buddievision, St Mirren CEO, Tony Fitzpatrick, believes "it's just the start". 

"Our target was to be fourth place. We had lost Mallan and McAllister, players of that ilk. So we're saying 'go for the top four'.

"There is a plan at the club, but all credit to Jack because he's came in and he's blown the plan apart. He's progressed the club so quickly."

Fitzpatrick added: "It's just the start and Jack is just a young manager.

He's like any young player here, there is a pathway.

"We're not kidding ourselves on, but I think Jack is determined to take the club where it belongs. This is a top six Premiership club - I don't care what anyone says."

The Buddies take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie this weekend in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup and the former player, manager and now director recalls a similar situation from his playing days.

"Going back 40 years ago, we were in the old First Division and we got Dundee United in the cup - and they were a top team at the time.

"I know as a young player with McGarvey, Stark, Peter Weir we were going to play Dundee United, who were like what Aberdeen are now, and you want to prove yourself.

"There's no doubt about it, the Magennis' and I could point to a lot of players in our team, they're Premiership players."

Fitzpatrick continued: "This is an opportunity to go up there, away from home, and prove to people that they can handle the Premiership. I know this team, and the players within it, can handle the Premiership no problem."

Buddievision subscribers can watch the full 15 minutes here.

The St Mirren airdome has been brought down temporarily due to adverse weather conditions. 

An accumulation of snow has fallen down the side of the dome causing a tear in the membrane of the revolving door. 

Repairs will be carried out on the dome to get it fully operational but it is likely this won't begin until the snow clears.

Anyone with dome bookings is advised to contact info@stmirren.com for enquiries and updates.

St Mirren Football Club apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

St Mirren are delighted to announce the loan signing of Celtic’s Mark Hill until the end of the season subject to SFA approval.

The 19 year-old midfielder joins up with Saints until the end of the campaign.

Hill, who signed a three-year deal with the Hoops in May last year, has yet to feature for the Celtic first team but has impressed in their development squad and featured in the UEFA Youth League and IRN-BRU Cup.

Speaking on the move, Jack Ross said: “I think Mark gives us something different. He’s dynamic, he’s powerful, probably a more naturally defensive type in the midfield which we’ve not really had this season.

"He’s a player I’ve been really impressed with whenever I’ve seen him and I know Brendan Rodgers has high hopes for him at Celtic.

"I’m excited to work with him and look forward to welcoming him to the group.”

Mark joined up with The Buddies for training this morning and said: "Obviously Jamie McCart was here and he said it was really good. I spoke to him a few times about it and he said training was decent and the club was good. It's my first day in and it's been really positive."

St Mirren's 2-0 victory away to Dumbarton on Saturday marked Stephen McGinn's 100th start for the Buddies.

The captain marked this occasion with his first goal of the season, with a well placed finish on the 58th minute, to help Saints to their sixth win in seven games.

Speaking to Buddievision, McGinn said: "It couldn't have been any better to be honest, I'm delighted to get off the mark.

"I've been having a bit of banter with Kyle Magennis about who would score first, so it was nice to take that unofficial tag as well. I seen him lining up a free kick, and he's hit it so well. I was glad to squeeze my goal in before he starts producing free kicks like that."

McGinn continued: "It's never an easy place to come, and there's been times were we've played well here and we haven't won, so the second goal gives you that cushion.

"We played so well today that at times, if we were a bit more clinical, we could have scored in the first half and added to the two in the second half."

St Mirren have now extended their lead at the top of the Championship to eight points, after closest rivals Dundee United drew with Dunfermline at East End Park the same afternoon.

But the Saints skipper is under no illusion that it will be a tough task to travel to Fife in the League a week on Friday.

"It's always nice to extend the lead, but we go to Dunfermline in our next league game, and we know how tough it is for anyone to go there.

"We just do what we do, and we've put a really good run together and we just want to keep that going."

Saints have a welcome break from league action this week, as they prepare for the long journey north to take on Aberdeen in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup and the captain knows the team will have to be at their very best to progress to the next round.

McGinn said: "It'll be really tough, they're the second best team in the country and have been for the past four or five years.

"It makes it even harder having to go up to Pittodrie, but we'll go up and we'll work on a game plan, and we know that we will have to be at the top of our game to get in to the hat for the next round.

"We have the confidence and we're used to winning games, so we'll go up there and hope to do ourselves justice." 

This coming Saturday (20th January) Saints head north-east to Pittodrie Stadium to face Aberdeen in a William Hill Scottish Cup tie and then the following weekend it is Friday Night Football on 26th January as Jack Ross takes his side to East End Park for a Ladbrokes Championship fixture against Dunfermline Athletic.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to Pittodrie Stadium and East End Park is as follows:

20/01/2018 - Aberdeen v St Mirren

North End Travel Club

Owing to the early kick-off and TV coverage we are sharing a bus with the Chivas Club to Aberdeen for the cup-tie.

The bus will leave St James' Street at 8:30am. The North End has no seats left.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for Aberdeen will leave at 8:30am from the Court Bar.

This bus is being shared with the North End Club so bus tickets for non members are limited. They can be bought at the Court Bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus for the Scottish Cup tie at Aberdeen will leave at 8:00am.

Bus tickets now available in The Bankhouse.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus going to the cup tie up at Aberdeen will leave at 8:00am.

Members should note that as this game is a cup tie that they will pay for this game. If members aren’t going please let Kenny know.

Bus tickets are available from the bar.

26/01/2018 - Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren

North End Travel Club

The bus to Dunfermline will leave The Sneddon at 5:45pm sharp.

Bus tickets are available in the Brewer's Tap, £7 each.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for East End Park will leave at 5:45pm from the Court Bar.

Bus tickets now available at the Court Bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus for the game at Dunfermline will leave at 5:30pm.

Bus tickets now available in The Bankhouse.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus going to Dunfermline will leave at 5:45pm.

Bus tickets will be available from the bar from Saturday 20th January.

St Mirren U20s match against Celtic has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Buddies were due to face the Young Hoops at The Paisley 2021 Stadium in the SPFL Development League this evening.

A new date for this fixture will be announced in due course. 

St Mirren Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Ryan Flynn on a two-and-a-half-year deal. 

The 29 year-old midfielder joins The Buddies having recently departed English League One side Oldham Athletic. 

Flynn began his career at Falkirk before joining Liverpool as a teenager in 2005. He had a loan spell at Wrexham before returning to Falkirk in 2009. 

His form at The Bairns earned him a move to Sheffield United where he played alongside current St Mirren captain Stephen McGinn before joining Oldham in 2016. 

Speaking on the move, St Mirren manager Jack Ross said: "I'm delighted to have him on board. He's a really good player with really good quality and pedigree. I'm excited to see him and I know he's looking forward to it as well." 

Ryan said: "I'm just glad it is done now. I know Stephen [McGinn] really well so I know how things have gone for the last year. The boys have been flying really and the football they are playing is really good. I just want to get in and help as much as I can."

Buddievision subscribers can watch the full interview with Ryan here.

The St Mirren U20s are back in SPFL Development League action tomorrow for the first time this year as they host Celtic at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

The Young Buds currently sit in 12th in the Development League with 13 points from their first 14 fixtures. 

Tomorrow's match takes place at the stadium with a 6pm kick-off and entry is free so come along and give the Young Buds your support.

To find out more about the SPFL Development League please click here.