The St Mirren Under-20 side are back in action again next midweek when they play host to their counterparts from Hibernian.

The SPFL Development League fixture between the young Buddies and Hibees on Tuesday, 13th September will take place at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and it will kick-off at 18:00. Admission is FREE.

For more news on the SPFL Development League please click HERE.

St Mirren chief Tony Fitzpatrick is on a mission to get fitter and healthier in a bid to find his perfect love match.

The Saints legend has joined Pro-Life Fitness Centre in Paisley in a bid to improve his lifestyle, shed pounds and get himself back into the dating game.

Fitz is taking action hoping he might find the love of his life at the popular gym where he will be put through his paces under the watchful eye of fitness guru Gayle Brannigan.

The former captain and manager of the Buddies has vowed to dump crisps, chocolate and biscuits in the fight to get leaner while tackling a tough training programme designed to help him reach his goal.

Tony, who took over as chief executive at the club he loves earlier this year, revealed: “The truth is I’m looking for love. The time is right. It’s been a long while since I had someone special in my life.

“But I need to get myself back into shape first, leaner, fitter and healthier and if I train hard I will be lucky enough find romance at Pro-Life.

“To be honest I think it is time to tackle both my fitness and love life. I’m not in the best shape I’ve ever been in and would like to lose a few pounds. I used to be a machine – working hard at training and fitness levels daily as a player and then as a manager.

“I’ve let that slip because of the hours I put in and the lifestyle I lead where I’m grabbing a snack whenever I can and it is never a healthy option. It’s easier just to have a packet of crisps or chocolate on the road or when I get home late at night than cook something. I love chocolate, it’s my downfall.

“My goal is to get fitter, healthier and if, at the same time I meet someone special that would be great. I know the team here can help me with nutrition and exercise advice. They are training our players so I thought it would be a good idea to join Pro-Life as well to take advantage of the expertise here.”

The former Saints captain revealed frankly: “it would be a real bonus if I found romance and I believe it might just happen at this smashing gym in Paisley.

“I don’t mind admitting that the truth is I’m hoping to find the new love of my life and if I get fitter and healthier in the process then what’s not to like.”

The former player and manager added: “The fact that every penny profit from the gym goes to help our hospices and rising young sports stars in the community is another reason I’m here.

“Renfrewshire Sports Charity who run Pro-Life is doing a great job with Gayle and the team working hard to make sure it just keeps growing and growing getting better and better.”

The gloves are off too as Tony is going head to head in this fitness challenge with the Buddies commercial manager Campbell Kennedy.

Campbell joked: “I’ve been in the gym but only to hand in a signed strip or a ball as a donation for a charity event. I’m a bit nervous about all of this but I’m definitely up for it.

“Tony and I do stressful jobs with long and often unusual hours. You’re basically on call 24 hours a day and that’s fine but it can lead to ignoring your lifestyle when it comes to eating healthy food at regular times and getting some exercise.

“I’ll give it my best shot.”

The duo kicked off their new fitness regime by trying out some of the equipment at the centre in New Sneddon Street where they were left in no doubt it wasn’t going to be easy.

Chief executive at RSC Gayle Brannigan said: “We’re delighted Tony and Campbell have joined the Pro-Life family but they will get no favours from us.

“After their induction which includes a health check and fitness level test we will devise a unique programme for each of them which will include cardio vascular workouts like the treadmill, rowing machines and bikes.

“Campbell’s wife Eileen and his daughter Fiona have also joined us so it is great to get this support for the gym and the charity.”

Gayle added: “I remember Tony training as a player. He was like a machine nothing got in his way. I know his level of dedication for anything he takes on board. I never knew Tony was looking for love but he deserves to have someone special in his life. He’s just a great guy.”

If you want to get into shape while looking for love just like Tony or join a gym where members become part of the family then ring the Pro-Life team at 98 New Sneddon Street on (0141) 889 5027.

Your membership will also help Renfrewshire’s two hospices.

Paisley Panda will be a busy mascot at this Saturday’s match with the return of the popular half-time competition ‘Bung a Baw’.

To take part fans need to purchase a small foam ball which is numbered and they will then have a chance to throw their ball towards our club mascot Paisley Panda in front of the Family Stand. Each person will have 60 seconds to do this and the winner will be the person who has thrown the ball closest to the feet of the Panda with the winner being confirmed over the PA system.

The competition is sponsored by The Linwood Farm Restaurant who are supplying a family meal voucher as the prize for the contest winner.

Each ball will cost £1 to buy. The balls will be available from sellers inside the Family Stand in the 30 minutes leading up to kick-off and then again in the first 5 minutes of half time before the competition starts (subject to availability). Each ball is numbered and participants will also get a ticket with the corresponding number which they will use to claim the prize if they win.

There will also be a new competition called ‘SPOT PRIZES‘. All Season Ticket holders and anyone who buys a ticket for Saturday’s match against Queen of the South before the St Mirren Ticket Office closes on Friday, will be entered into a prize draw.

On the 30th and 60th minute of the match a seat will be selected at random which will be displayed on the scoreboard with the winners each receiving a family munchy box (4 slush puppies, 4 hot dogs, 4 ice creams and 6 packets of traditional sweets) from Tasty Treats of Bridge of Weir.

Our ‘MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD‘ is also back for Saturday’s match. Fans have the opportunity to vote for the man of the match that will 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 MALLAN’.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then Stadium Announcer Phil Clark 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.

St Mirren continued their 100% win record on Tuesday evening as they won 2-1 against Aberdeen in a SPFL Development League fixture at Brechin City’s Glebe Park.

Saints took an early lead when Conor O’Keefe put the Paisley side ahead on 12 minutes. Greig McNaughton’s free-kick found its way to O’Keefe who fired the ball past Dons keeper David Craddock.

Within a minute Saints had doubled their lead when O’Keefe’s shot was saved by Craddock but the ball spun off the post then defender Sam Roscoe before nestling in the back of the net.

Saints were comfortably in control of the game as they saw the first half out but Aberdeen came out with more purpose in the second half.

The Paisley side looked to be coping with what Aberdeen were throwing at the them but the home side did get back into the game with 20 minutes remaining. A challenge on Scott Wright saw referee Chris Fordyce award a penalty-kick which was coolly slipped past Reece Willison by Bruce Anderson.

Aberdeen pushed for an equaliser but Saints hung in to claim the three points and keep their place at the top of the Development League.

St Mirren: Willison, McNaughton, Stewart (Barclay 55), Magennis, Gordon, McDonald, Flanagan, Whyte, Orsi, McLear, O’Keefe.
Unused Substitutes: MacPherson, Fawkes, Johnston, McKendry, Scally, Henry (GK).

On Saturday 17th September, St Mirren head over the Erskine Bridge to face Dumbarton in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up at The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.

The following week Saints are on the road again when they make the journey through to East End Park to go head to head with Dunfermline Athletic.

We are now looking for information on supporters’ buses which will be going to The Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium and/or East End Park for the matches.

If you wish to have your bus included on the list please send your info to norrie.jamieson@stmirren.com and we’ll make sure it gets online!

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Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

Dumbarton v St Mirren – 17/10/2016

We will be leaving at 2:00pm for Dumbarton.

Bus tickets will be on sale in The Bankhouse from Saturday 10th September.

Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren – 24/10/2016

The bus will leave at 3:30pm for Dunfermline.

Bus tickets will be on sale in The Bankhouse from Saturday 17th September.

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Tile Bar Supporters Bus

Dumbarton v St Mirren – 17/10/2016

The Tile Bar bus for Dumbarton will leave Abercorn Street at 2:00pm.

Bus seat tickets are on sale from behind the bar.

Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren – 24/10/2016

The bus for the game away to Dunfermline will leave at 3:30pm.

Bus tickets will be on sale in the bar after the game against Dumbarton (17th September).

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North End Travel Club

Dumbarton v St Mirren – 17/10/2016

The bus to Dumbarton will leave the Sneddon at 2:00pm.

Bus tickets available in the Brewers Tap, £5 each.

Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren – 24/10/2016

We will be taking names on Saturday (10th September) for the bus for the game at Dunfermline which is a late kick-off.

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Chivas Travel Club

Dumbarton v St Mirren – 17/10/2016

The bus will leave the Court Bar at 2:00pm for the game at Dumbarton.

Bus tickets are now on sale from behind the bar.

Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren – 24/10/2016

No info yet.

We would like to inform fans that the planned St Mirren players appearance at the JD store in Paisley scheduled for Thursday 8th September has now been postponed.

As fans are aware, the new 2016/17 replica kit was scheduled for on-sale for the same day (Thursday 8th September). JD would like to make fans aware there will be a very limited number of the new replica shirts available for sale, and these will be at the Paisley store only, however they are still awaiting delivery of a number of sizes.

A spokesperson from JD said: “We would like to apologise to the fans for this delay, we share their frustrations and we are doing everything we can to get the full order in stock as soon as possible. We are in constant contact with the Club and are keeping them updated.”

As previously mentioned, JD will be funding a discount of £10 on all adult and junior 2016/17 St Mirren replica shirts as a gesture of goodwill.

A new date for the players appearance at JD will be announced very soon.

The new home kit for season 2016/17 will be launched at an event to be held at JD’s Paisley Centre store tomorrow evening.

The event on Thursday 8th September will kick-off at 17:00 and will run right through to 18:00.

First team squad players Lewis Morgan, Calum Gallagher, Jack Baird and (club captain) Andy Webster will be in attendance at the event.

The new kit will be available to purchase from the JD stores in Paisley, Braehead and Silverburn.

St Mirren in the Community are delighted to confirm that the SMiSA Panda Club will be open as usual for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Championship fixture against Queen of the South at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

The cost is just £2 per child (aged 5-12) for those without a season ticket and completely FREE to our young season ticket holders (remember and bring your smartcard with you).

The club runs from 1300 through until 1700.

To find out more about the Panda Club click here

After last Saturday’s win away to Albion Rovers in the IRN-BRU Cup, Saints were drawn an away tie this afternoon in the last sixteen of the tournament against fellow Ladbrokes Championship side Hibernian.

The 4th Round tie between Saints and The Hibees will be played on the weekend of 8th/9th October at Easter Road Stadium.

The full draw is as follows:

Bala Town v Alloa Athletic
Forfar Athletic v The New Saints
Crusaders v Livingston
Queen of the South v Linfield
Hibernian v St Mirren
Dunfermline Athletic v Queen’s Park
Ayr United v Falkirk
Stranraer v Dundee United

It has been a frustrating start to the season for summer signing Gary MacKenzie as he has been sidelined with injury and has had to bide his time to make his debut for St Mirren. So after a couple of outings with the under-20 side Gary started in Saturday’s IRN-BRU Cup tie against Albion Rovers and while it was good to get his debut under his belt he had a baptism of fire to his life as a Buddie as the Saints had to battle back from two goals down to win the tie 4-3. Gary said:

“It was good to get out on to the pitch and play a proper game. Obviously the game didn’t go to plan and I didn’t plan on playing extra-time as well but that is just what you have got to do.

“We need to stop giving away soft goals, that is clear for everybody to see. Three set-plays with what we have got in the team shouldn’t happen, so that is disappointing but in terms of general play I thought we dictated play and showed a bit of character to come back into the game and get in front. But again we shoot ourselves in the foot by giving away a soft goal from set-plays, that needs to stop and it will stop, I’m sure it will, people just need to take more responsibility and make better decisions.

“But in general play I thought we passed the ball about pretty well on a tricky surface, it wasn’t the best surface I’ve ever played on but we tried and we kept probing away and got the result which is the most important thing in the cup, getting through and get your name into the hat and trying to take some positives out of it, but also sort the frailties that we showed because that is unacceptable.”

It has been a frustrating summer for the defender but he knew he had to be patient with the process of recovering from his injury.

“When you’re sat at the sides and the boys have had a bit of a stop-start season that makes it all the more frustrating and you want to get back out and play but with the problem I’ve got I need to do it properly, I can’t rush back and then end up breaking down in a couple of weeks or a month’s time and it happens through the season.

“So we agreed when I got the injection that it would take its time and do it properly so that hopefully it sets me up to then play for the rest of the season. So made the sacrifice at the start to hopefully gain throughout the season. I’m just glad to be back, I’m obviously tired and stuff [after Saturday’s game] but the most important thing is getting the result and also I’ve got minutes under my belt now that I can take on to next week.”

Gary played last midweek with the under-20 side and wasn’t banking on playing an additional thirty minutes of extra-time on Saturday but now that it is done the defender is glad to get his Saints career up and going with a win.

“I was feeling a bit leg weary after about eighty minutes to be honest. I played seventy or eighty minutes last Tuesday. To be fair to them [Albion Rovers] they made a game of it but as I said we shot ourselves in the foot by giving away soft goals. We made it more difficult than it should have been but that is football, you never know especially in the cup. You just need to take it as it comes and we showed good character to come back and get the win.”