After the cancellation of the game against Spartans last Saturday, and the many comments that followed via emails, message boards and on social media I thought it may be of interest to our supporters to know the events that led to the game being called off and what we learned from both this and the aftermath. 

To me this is a perfect example of the challenges involved in trying to satisfy all our supporters in the age of instant media, whilst trying our best to do what is in the best financial interests of the football club. 

Very soon after we took over at the club I was informed by our Groundsman that the undersoil heating was not working properly. As you might appreciate these systems have limited suppliers who know how to maintain and service the system properly and the only company that appears to know how the entire system works is a one man business based in Hull. 

We eventually managed to schedule him in to service the system in early October. At that service call we were told by the engineer that various items were beyond simple repair and that he could not get the system operational during that visit. 

We requested a full report and estimate to see if our insurance would cover the repairs. We eventually received that report and our insurance organised a loss adjuster to come and see if we were covered. That visit took place earlier this week. 

We are now waiting on an answer from the loss adjuster but in the meantime we have had someone local have a look at the system for their thoughts on whether they can maintain it and repair it and are awaiting further information from them. 

It is worthwhile at this point to outline a few facts regarding undersoil heating and its running costs. 

The undersoil heating system costs around £1000 a day to run and in normal circumstances it needs to be on from the Wednesday to the Saturday to ensure that the pitch is perfectly playable. In other words it can cost around £4000 purely in fuel and running costs to make sure the pitch is playable on a match day. The system has three heat settings, two that will keep the pitch from freezing and one that will melt surface snow. 

We have a club meeting on the Wednesday morning before every Saturday home game and at each of the last 3 meetings we discussed whether we would have turned on the heating for each of those games. With very small travelling supports expected in those games, and with TV scheduling affecting the crowds we estimated that we would be lucky to break even for those specific matches, even before factoring in the cost of pitch heating. 

It was therefore agreed that we would not have turned the heating on even had the system been fully functional. As such we unanimously agreed that the best course of action was to follow due process with the insurance company rather than embarking on potentially costly emergency repairs at this time. 

The undersoil heating is of course a valuable asset to the club and one that we need to get fully functional as we cannot afford to risk losing a high earning Saturday game to frost. If the insurance won't cover the cost then we will request that SMiSA ask their members if they would consider this for their next discretionary fund spend. 

So that is a full, transparent summary of where we have been and where we are now with regard the undersoil heating. 

As ever there are lessons to learn from these events. 

We have agreed that we need to dust down the pitch covers that we used successfully for so many years at Love Street. We will evaluate the condition of these and establish if we need to purchase new ones to at least give us an option to try and protect the pitch as best as possible for games like the last 3. Whilst the covers are nowhere near as effective as the undersoil heating in extreme weather they will give us an option where turning the heating on is not financially viable, so at least giving us a chance of getting the game on. 

We have agreed that we will create and agree a clear plan of action in our pre-match team meetings aimed at mitigating the possible effects of inclement weather at the next home game. 

We realise that communication is also key when dealing with possible and actual match cancellations and we will adopt a clear communication policy in this regard using email, social media and of course our own website to give clear advice to all supporters. 

Thank you again for your time, patience and support. As a new board we are learning all the time and trying our level best to improve all aspects of the club both on and off the pitch. We will make mistakes along the way but as you can see things aren't always quite as straightforward as they seem on the surface and we will always take decisions that we think are in the best interests of the club as a whole. 

Hope to see as many of you as possible at Falkirk on Saturday. 

Following the postponement of Saturday's game against Spartans, supporters will have until the 10th of December to claim a refund if they bought a ticket and can't make tomorrow night's rearranged match. 

For those who paid in cash you would have to come down to the ticket office to claim the refund, whilst those who paid online can phone the ticket office (0141-840-6130) or send an email to tickets@stmirren.com 

The Family Stand will be closed for tomorrow night's match, along with the North Stand. Anyone with a ticket for the Family Stand will be able to use their ticket to access the other stands.

A pitch inspection took place at the stadium at 12:30pm today. 

Due to a problem with the under soil heating the pitch has been declared unplayable and so regrettably tomorrow's match against Spartans has been postponed. 

We are investigating the cause of the problem and will meet with our insurers next week to see if the repairs are covered under our policy of insurance. 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. 

The St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMiSA) is hosting an evening with the Millennium Champions on Friday 2nd December 2016.

The night will be hosted by broadcaster and Saints fan, Colin Kelly who will be joined by ex-manager Tom Hendrie along with several members of the squad from that famous season as the Buddies won promotion to the Scottish Premier League back in 1999/2000.

Tickets are on sale to all supporters for £10. However, as the event is licensed, it is only available to those who are 18 and over.

More details about the night can be found here.

St Mirren's strategic partnership with the University of the West of Scotland has been nominated for a Times Higher Education Award.

The awards take place tonight in London with the partnership having been nominated under the Most Innovate Contribution to Business-University Collaboration category.

It's the second award the club's partnership with the UWS has been nominated for having won the Outstanding Employer Engagement Award at the Herald Higher Education Awards in Glasgow in July.

The club and the university began a joint venture at the start of the 2015/16 season with the launch of St Mirren TV - a service which is delivered by media students from the university and sees all home matches broadcast to supporters outside the UK and Ireland.

All of the nominees can be found here.

St Mirren Football Club are offering free entry to any members of the Armed Forces for this weekend's game against Ayr United. 

The Saints host the Honest Men in the IRN-BRU Cup on Remembrance Sunday and any member of the Forces will be given a free ticket if they show their HM Forces ID card at the ticket office.

The club will be joined by four veterans from the Erskine Hospital who will attend the match as guests and there will also be a minutes silence ahead of kick-off.

Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: "It's important for us to show our appreciation for all the sacrifices our servicemen and woman have made throughout the years."

We have had control for three months now and have been through an eye opening evaluation of where the clubs is right now and what is required to put it back where it belongs. There is much to be done, and for now it is a case of prioritising and progressing on as many fronts as possible. 

As I mentioned in my first update I am keen to keep supporters as informed as we can so here is an update on what has happened in the past few weeks. 

ON THE PARK

To say things have not gone as we would like on the football side of things so far this season would be an understatement. 

First and foremost, every member of the board is a St Mirren supporter and we are all hurting as much as everyone else, however it is vitally important that we all stick together through these tough times and come out the other side stronger as a result. 

Personally I have seen enough in the last few weeks both behind the scenes and on the park to have faith that we have the right management team in place to start moving the club forward on all levels. We have started to develop a long term strategy as to how the youth system will funnel into the first team with Tony at the forefront of developing this along with Jack, James, Allan and his academy team. 

THE ACADEMY

The academy has just been awarded gold status for another year, which is a fantastic achievement as we are the only side holding gold status in Scotland. Only Celtic & Rangers hold a higher status than St Mirren, so we should all be justifiably proud of this. 

Unfortunately the AstroTurf pitch at Ralston will only last another year before it will need replaced as it just scraped through the testing procedure this time. 

The first team buildings also need some major repair work as we look to protect our investment in Ralston. 

This investment cannot be avoided so this may impact on some of our other planned projects in the short term as we juggle the resources we have available. 

DISABLED SUPPORTERS PLATFORM

We will have the raised platform completed in time for the quarter-final of the IRN-BRU Cup against Ayr United. The Fans Council have arranged for some veterans from Erskine Hospital to attend the game on Remembrance Sunday. 

Although this is the very first game where the platform will be in use, the disabled supporters association have made the selfless decision to let the veterans have access to the platform. A terrific gesture which reflects well on all at the club. 

WORKING WITH SMISA

The funding that was initially available to pay for the platform was dramatically reduced prior to our takeover. Without the assistance of the SMiSA members' £2 a month contribution and the generosity of some others this wouldn't have happened. We will thank them all properly in a future article. 

A big thank you as well to the SMiSA volunteer squad who are going around the whole stadium giving it a good clean from top to bottom. We are committed to making the matchday experience as enjoyable and safe as possible for fans of all ages and these efforts definitely help. If you can give your time - and particularly if you have a trade - your support would be very welcome. You can register your interest by emailing jim.crawford@smisa.net

SMISA & THE FANS COUNCIL

We have had positive discussions with the SMiSA and the Fans Council as to how we move forward utilising the unique skill sets of both organisations and as part of that review we are looking at how we develop the St Mirren Trust to increase our role in the community. 

NEW FACES AND NEW ROLES

We have employed Fiona Dainty as our new Football Development and Community officer. Fiona is also a coach with Scotland woman's under-17s and part of her remit will be to develop the woman's football side of our club. 

James Hunter has now been appointed as our Head of Media. I hope you are all starting to see the increased flow of information on the new website and on our social media channels. Norrie Jamieson remains a valued member of the team and will assist with certain website aspects whilst also co-ordinating the production of the Matchday Programme. 

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

We have gone live with online booking for corporate hospitality and player sponsorship on the website in our new e-store and have already taken our first few orders on this platform. Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for supporters and local businesses to book and pay for services online and will be reviewing other operations within the club with a view to taking those online too. 

A MESSAGE FOR THE FANS

It would be remiss of me not to mention the support we have received from the fans. I know things have been very tough for everyone connected with the club. 

Trust me when I say it hurts even more when you are putting your heart and soul into trying to improve things every day only to be left disappointed on a Saturday.

It has been a massive boost to both Tony, myself and the other board members to receive the backing and support of every fan we meet. 

The positive feedback helps reinforce our absolute belief that we are heading in the right direction and will come out of this difficult period as a stronger club. The support for the team on a Saturday has been exceptional even when things haven't been working out. 

I'd urge you all to stick with Jack, James and the rest of the team as your support really does make a difference. 

Thank you!

Calling all Saints fans!

We want your help as we look to make some changes around the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

In a bid to bring the players and supporters closer together and to create a sense of unity between the two, we are asking for your suggestions for what we can put above the tunnel area for the players to see right before they run on to the park.

The plan will be to have the slogan emblazoned on the area just above the tunnel exit on the inside of the stadium and have the exact same thing on the exits from all the vomitories throughout the stadium. 

We've all seen some of the iconic examples in football, such as the 'This is Anfield' sign that sits above the tunnel area at the home of Liverpool FC and we want to replicate that at our stadium. 

So send your ideas - whether it's a slogan or some artwork - to us on our Twitter or Facebook page or email james.hunter@stmirren.com and the best will be adorned throughout the stadium.

On a night of disappointment came one shining light as Academy prospect Kyle Magennis took to the field as a half time substitute to replace Kyle Hutton during Tuesday's game at Cappielow.

Much like he did on Saturday when he made his first team bow, taking the place of Ryan Hardie at the interval against Hibernian at Easter Road, Kyle looked assured and composed on the ball and didn't let the occasion faze him as he tried to play his game. 

The midfielder has looked right at home in the centre of midfield in his two cameo appearances for the Saints and has won praise from manager Jack Ross for the way he has come into the side. 

Speaking to stmirren.com after the match on Tuesday night, the player says it's been enjoyable, even if results haven't gone the way of the Saints.

It has been good," he said. "It has been a good experience for me and good to play with the boys. 

It's been a steep learning curve for the player who admitted that the step up from the U20s to first team level has been difficult. However, he said that once he took to the field it became business as usual.

It's a lot harder [than the U20s]. You get pressed a lot more, you don't get as much time on the ball and you have to keep it simple. I was nervous, but once I got on the park it just became another football match and you just try to play the way you play. 

I just want to try my hardest and just do what I can do and get more chances. Hopefully I'll get a start in the next couple of weeks and show what I can do.

He also said that the more experienced players in the squad were very welcoming and did what they could to help him through the games.

They encourage you when you are playing, keep everything positive if you make a mistake and just generally try to encourage you. 

While Jack Ross had positive things to say about Kyle on both his outings, the 18 year-old had praise for the manager as well.

He's been great," he said. "He's been more involved in our training and stuff and wants to give us a chance to impress."

Over the last few weeks a group of volunteers from within SMISA's membership have been in at the Paisley 2021 Stadium cleaning the Family Stand. While the front of the seats are cleaned by the club each year, the backs are not. The volunteers have been in cleaning these with power-washers and they have also cleaned the stairs, banisters and the advertising boards to make the area look much nicer ahead of Saturday's game against Dumbarton.

The Club's thanks go to volunteer squad members Bert Downie, Ian McLaren, Ken Docherty, Gordon Black and SMISA committee member Jim Crawford for all their hard work. 

The guys are keen to expand the numbers and if anybody has a few hours to spare and would like to join them, your help will be hugely appreciated. The team are back in at the stadium this week tackling the West Stand. For more information, email jim.crawford@smisa.net