It's been a big season already for centre-half Jack Baird. 

The young defender is rapidly approaching the 100 appearance mark after clocking his 92nd in the 2-1 win over Brechin. 

He's likely to take another step closer to his century when Raith Rovers come to Paisley in the IRN-BRU Cup on Saturday.

Long term absentees Harry Davis and Gary MacKenzie remain out while loanee Jamie McCart is cup-tied after featuring for Celtic Colts in the first round. 

Lewis Morgan and Liam Smith are both on international duty also giving some other faces the chance to come into the side and impress. 

Jack knows the difficulty Saints will face coming up against League One Rovers this weekend, but is excited for the match.

It will be a difficult game as they are top of their league as well," he told stmirren.com. 

"But we've got players who will fill in and do well. I'm looking forward to it and obviously we are looking to win the game. 

"Cup runs are always good because they keep giving you a number of games. The best bit of being a footballer is playing games so the longer you stay in the cups the better. 

"I enjoyed playing in the final last season as it was my first ever final. Hopefully we can do something similar this season.

"It's good to have a break from the league and it's nice to have a cup game thrown in now and then. It's something a wee bit different and the more games the better."

The Saints come into the cup game this weekend on the back of reclaiming top spot in the Ladbrokes Championship in the win over Brechin. 

It's a far cry from what Baird has been used to in his years with the Buddies. 

But he is relishing the challenge of being at the top. 

It's good and it's a different type of pressure from last season," he said.

"Last year we were winning games to try and stay in this league. This season we are winning games to try and stay at the top. It's a big difference but you approach them with the same attitude. All the games are must win because you want to stay where you are. 

"Regardless of how other teams are getting on as long as we keep winning we'll stay on top. Last year was difficult where getting three points might not get you up the table. But this season taking three points will get us something.

"We just need to keep winning games and concentrate on ourselves. It's motivating itself to be top of the table because I've never really experienced that in my career. There's a different feeling on a Monday and you come into training knowing you are top of the table." 

Tickets for St Mirren’s trip to Dumbarton will go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am both online and at the Ticket Office.

A week on Saturday, St Mirren head across the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton in the Ladbrokes Championship. 

Due to the small allocation received tickets will only be on sale to season ticket holders (maximum 1 per season ticket) from Wednesday until Friday. Tickets will then go on general sale on Saturday. 

The match and tickets info is as follows:

Dumbarton vs St Mirren
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Your Radio 103FM Stadium, Dumbarton
Date: Saturday 14th October 2017
Kick-off: 3:00pm

Ticket Prices

Adult - £22
Concessions (over 65/full-time students/Under 16s) - £14
Parent and Child - £30

* Students must show valid ID as proof of status.

Anyone requiring wheelchair access must contact the St Mirren Ticket Office.

This coming Saturday (7th October) you will be able to buy tickets for the Dumbarton game up to 1:30pm and then post match. The Ticket Office will also open from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on Thursday 5th October to sell tickets.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours for the remainder of this week are as follows:

Wed, Oct 4th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Thu, Oct 5th – 10:00am - 2:00pm and 5:00pm - 7:00pm 
Fri, Oct 6th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Sat, Oct 7th – 10:00am - 3:00pm (kick-off) and post match

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

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

The 140th Anniversary football shirt goes on general sale this coming Saturday from the Club Shop.

You can also pre-order the shirt on our e-store for collection on Saturday.

The all black shirt goes on general sale on Saturday 7th October in the following sizes:

Adults (£45)

Small

Medium

Large

Extra Large

2XL

Kids (£32)

6XS-5XS (Age 4-6)

4XS-3XS (Age 8-10)

XS (Age 12)

Small (Age 13-14)

We are aware that some people are having issues accessing the online ticket system.

If you use an iPad, iPhone or MacBook you will be unable to use the system. This is out-with our hands as it is due to a dispute between Apple and Adobe. We are currently trying  to resolve the issue, but it involves writing a programme for each of the 8,000 seats within the stadium.

If you are using a PC or laptop we would suggest that you use Mozilla Firefox as your  browser and download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, this will allow the seating template to load.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

On Saturday 14th October, St Mirren head over the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up at the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium, then a week later Saints make the trip to the Forth Valley to face Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium and the Falkirk Stadium for the matches is as follows:

14/10/2017 - Dumbarton v St Mirren

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus for Dumbarton will leave at 2:00pm.

Bus tickets will be available in The Bankhouse from Saturday 7th October.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus will leave from the Court Bar at 1:45pm for ‘The Rock’.

Bus tickets now on sale from the Court Bar.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus for the trip to Dumbarton will leave Abercorn Street at 2:00pm.

Bus tickets will go on sale behind the bar from Saturday 7th October.

North End Travel Club

The bus to Dumbarton will leave The Sneddon at 1:45pm.

Bus tickets are on sale in The Brewer’s Tap, £6 each

21/10/2017 - Falkirk v St Mirren

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus going to Falkirk will leave Abercorn Street at 1:30pm.

Bus tickets will go on sale behind the bar from Saturday 14th October.

North End Travel Club

The bus for the Falkirk game will leave The Sneddon at 1:30pm.

Bus tickets will be on sale on the bus going to the Dumbarton game and afterwards in The Brewer’s Tap, £7 each

Chivas Travel Club

The bus will leave at 1:30pm from the Court Bar.

Bus tickets now on sale from the Court Bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus to Falkirk will leave at 1:30pm.

Bus tickets will be available in The Bankhouse from Saturday 14th October.

The St Mirren U20s are back in SPFL Development League action this evening as they play host to Dundee United. 

It's back to league football for they young Buddies as they face United at the Paisley 2021 Stadium following a 4-0 win over Heriot-Watt University in the second round of the Scottish FA Youth Cup.

Kick-off is at 6pm and entry is FREE so come down and give the young Buds your support! 

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

St Mirren's match against Renfrewshire rivals Morton on Tuesday 2nd January has been selected for live coverage on BBC ALBA.

However, the Buddies' first match of 2018 will remain on the same date with the same kick-off time (3pm). 

The full details for the fixture are as follows:

Morton v St Mirren
Ladbrokes Championship
Cappielow Park, Greenock
Tuesday, 2nd January 2018
Live on BBC ALBA, 3:00pm kick-off

A gallery of pictures from St Mirren's 2-1 win over Brechin City on Saturday.

The Buddies returned to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship after a hard-fought win over the Angus side. 

Cammy Smith opened the scoring for Saints on 14 minutes. before ex-St Mirren youngster Kalvin Orsi pulled Brechin level before half-time.

Saints grabbed a winner on 78 minutes when substitute Dale Hilson was quickest to react to a John Sutton knock down. 

The win saw St Mirren extend their record breaking winning streak at the Paisley 2021 Stadium to eight matches and leapfrog Dunfermline to go top of the league. 

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

Jack Ross speaks to stmirren.com in the wake of the Buddies 2-1 win over Brechin City at the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

The Saints manager gives his thoughts as goals from Cammy Smith and Dale Hilson see St Mirren make it eight home wins in a row and return to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship. 

St Mirren returned to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship with a hard fought 2-1 win over Brechin City.

The Buddies extended their winning run at the Paisley 2021 Stadium to eight matches as goals from Cammy Smith and Dale Hilson helped see off the stuffy Angus side. 

Jordan Kirkpatrick, making his first league start for the Buddies, registered the first real chance on goal when his low effort on 10 minutes was deflected out for a corner.

A neat bit of play nearly yielded the opener 13 minutes in when a terrific cross-field pass from Ian McShane found Liam Smith galloping up the right side. He swung in a tremendous ball that found Stephen McGinn but the captain's touch was heavy, denying himself a chance to get a shot away. He turned back and found Lewis Morgan who had a go from the edge of the area. His shot was deflected into the path of Cammy Smith whose low effort was held by the Brechin goalkeeper.

Just a minute later though the Buddies were ahead. A nice ball over the top from McGinn was met by Cammy Smith who side-footed the ball beyond Graeme Smith to draw first blood. 

Saints may have taken the lead but struggled to find their groove. Connor McLennan sent two shots wide for the visitors while Stelios and Morgan had efforts blocked and saved. 

Brechin were level seven minutes before half time through ex-Saint Kalvin Orsi. The striker, who left the Buddies in the summer, stooped down to meet a deep cross from Jordan Sinclair to nod beyond Craig Samson. 

Saints reacted well to going behind with Stelios charging forward, the ball eventually finding Lewis Morgan whose shot was sent by for a corner. Jack Baird climbed above the City defence to get on the end of it but headed over.

Half Time: St Mirren 1-1 Brechin City

Even after the break, the Buddies failed to reach the levels that supporters have become accustomed too over recent times at the Paisley 2021 Stadium. But the home side could have restored their lead early into the second half when a searching ball from McGinn almost found Stelios on his own inside the box.  

Saints were piling forward in the hopes of getting back in front, but had to be wary of the threat Brechin were posing on the break. Another ex-Saint, Ally Love, sent an effort just by the post before Liam Smith had to clear a McLennan shot off the line. 

Jack Ross made his final sub on 76 minutes when John Sutton replaced Gavin Reilly. St Mirren were trying to ramp things up in the search of a winner and it looked certain that birthday boy Morgan would add to his tally for the season when he was found in space inside the box. The winger lashed a fierce shot goal-bound with Graeme Smith showing strong hands to push it away. 

It looked like it was just set to be one of those days for Saints. But then, just a few moments after Morgan's chance, St Mirren had a winner. A clearance from Liam Smith found Cammy Smith on the half way line. He drove forward before sending a reverse ball through to substitute Ross Stewart who burst into the box. He raced to the touchline before clipping the ball onto the head of Sutton. The experienced striker got in ahead of his man to flick the ball into the path of Dale Hilson. The winger gambling to get in ahead of the Brechin defence, getting a toe to the ball to slide it into the back of the net for his first St Mirren goal.

With Dundee United defeating Dunfermline at East End Park, the win means St Mirren return to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship with a meeting against League One leaders Raith Rovers in the IRN-BRU Cup to come next week. 

Full Time: St Mirren 2-1 Brechin City 

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, McCart, Stelios (Hilson 67), McGinn, McShane, C. Smith, Kirkpatrick (Stewart 52), Morgan, Reilly (Sutton 76)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Irvine, Buchanan, Duffy, Sutton

Brechin: G. Smith, McLean, Dyer, McGeever, Dale, Graham, Spark, McLennan (Layne 84), Orsi (Love 63), Crighton, Sinclair (Watt 77)
Subs Not Used: P. O'Neill, Fusco, C.O'Neill

Referee: Gavin Duncan
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvany
Assistant Referee: Chris McTiernan

Attendance: 3,928