I want to thank each and every one of the near 2,000 St Mirren supporters who came along to this evening's match against Falkirk.

With the game on TV and a kick off time of 5:15pm, it was great to see a crowd of 2,000 plus at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

I thought the backing from the Saints fans was absolutely wonderful with some of the players mentioning how good the support was in driving them on to get a draw.

I had asked supporters to come along in my statement on stmirren.com yesterday and I genuinely can't thank all of you who did enough for the support you gave the team until the very end.

Of course we wanted to get a win but you can see how Tom Walsh's late goal spurred on both the supporters and the players and hopefully we can replicate that in the coming weeks and months.

Your support of the football club is vital and never taken for granted and thank you all once again for coming out in your numbers to cheer the team on.

Gordon

It has been nearly two weeks since we made the decision to change our manager. The process of appointing a new manager can be a lengthy one and we have spent those near two weeks reviewing the 50 plus applications we have received and trying to reduce that to a manageable number to interview. Tony's experience has been invaluable and a couple of our existing board members have past experience when it comes to this so, as a board, we are not entirely new to it all. 

We started the process by aiming high and approached a couple of ex-English Premier League managers. It was always going to be a long shot but I believed, after meeting them, that one of them might have paid off but it wasn't to be. With the breaking news in England regarding the managerial scandal, I feel it's no coincidence that one of them may be waiting it out to see if anything becomes available down south. However, it was worth a try and we thank him for coming in to speak to us. We had a few productive chats and I gained valuable insight into what it takes to be a top manager. 

After that we then looked closer to home and had another worthwhile conversation with one of the leading agents in Scottish football. One of his clients was high on our list to interview but unfortunately, as it stands, he wants another crack at trying to be a success in England and we wish him well. 

We have now whittled down our list and hope to finish the interviewing process early next week with the aim of having someone in place prior to next Saturday's trip to Easter Road to face Hibernian in the IRN-BRU Cup. That list contains a good blend of experienced and up-and-coming managers. We know how important it is to get the right person in and rest assured that when we appoint someone we'll have done everything we can and carried out all due diligence to ensure that they are the best person for the job. For us it is important to get some stability and start planning for the long term. 

I also have to ask you for your support at tomorrow's game against Falkirk. It was a big, and costly, decision to change manager and we need all the support we can get through the turnstiles. While the result against Dunfermline last week was not what we wanted, you could see the commitment from the players for 90 minutes and I can assure you that they are working as hard as they can to turn things around. 

As a club we need your support more than ever right now, so please come to the game on Saturday and drag along any doubters and get right behind the team. 

Gordon. 

Andy Webster says he feels that the team's form will turn around as they continue to work hard on the training field. The captain has been helping out Allan McManus with first team duties while the club continues its search for a new manager and believes the time put in at Ralston will make a difference before long. He said:

"On Saturday the boys worked hard and things transpired during the game of football that weren't good, like the ball bouncing off your knee and going in. We know that with the hard work we are putting in on the training pitch that, come a Saturday, people will generally appreciate as long as the boys are giving their all, they will take anything that comes their way.

"I can definitely say that on Saturday the players gave their all and on a different day we could've got a point or maybe three. If we continue to work as hard as we are doing I'm sure things will turn around sooner rather than later."

Webster admitted that being involved in the coaching side of things, as well as still being a player, hasn't been easy.

"It's been full on," he said. "I left a picture in the house for the kids to remember what their dad looks like! The hard bit for me is the balance between the coaching side of it and being involved in terms of analysing us as a group of players, analysing the opposition and being able to put a team together that we feel is best suited for the players that we've got, but it's been great.

"As disappointing as it is, the manager losing his job and what not, we want to galvanise the boys and try to lift their spirits a bit because we know we are going through a difficult spell. But it's about trying to keep it as positive as we possibly can and getting the right results."

The captain believes it's important to try and focus on the positives and that's what he's trying to do. 

"We did video analysis of Saturday's game on Monday and there were loads of positive things to take from that. It's just trying to re-emphasise that to the lads and going forward we do realise that we're a good group of player and the fundamentals of being a footballer are making sure we work.

"We just need to persevere, that's ultimately it. We need to make sure that we give ourselves the best opportunities during a game of football to win them. We've got more than enough to match anybody but obviously we're not managing to do that at the moment. Hopefully we can turn a corner, get a positive result and the boys will be off and running."

There was good news in the St Mirren camp this week after the news that loanee Ryan Hardie has been called up to the Scotland U21 squad for the upcoming games against Iceland and FYR Macedonia in the European Championship Qualifiers.

Hardie, who scored St Mirren's third in the narrow defeat to Dunfermline last Saturday, has scored three goals for the Saints and Webster said:

"I mentioned it to him and he thought I was winding him up. He's done really well and his goal on Saturday was an unbelievable strike. For any striker they that confidence and scoring goals will breed that for them. He's done really well and it's great for him to get that recognition that he's done really well."

Welcome to the new look official club website here at STMIRREN.COM.

The club has been working hard to bring supporters and our visitors an improved experience when visitng the official website and we hope you like what you see in this fresh new design.

All the same information is here as before, and we hope we've made it easier to find and easier to view especially on your mobile and tablet devices.

In addition you will find a couple of new features such as our Social Media Hub which brings all the latest Twitter posts from a variety of St.Mirren related accounts into one easy to read page right here on the website.

We also have a new "Suggestion Wall" where supporters can propose ideas to the club on how they feel certain aspects may be improved. We want to improve the communication between supporters and the employees at the club and the website will play an important role in that going forward.

This re-design however is only the first phase in a series of updates. We will now begin looking at each area of the site in turn and looking to make improvements. In subsequent phases we will be looking to introduce online booking and payments for services such as corporate hospitality, event bookings and subscriptions. We want to make things as simple and easy as possible for our supporters and we will be working hard to do that as quickly as possible.

We'd like to thank Alesia Milton of UWS for her time and efforts in canvasing the fans opinions on the previous website and for producing the paper that kicked off the re-design project last season.

Similarly we'd like to record our thanks to Kenny & Karin Pointon who managed our official web hosting for many years with great care and dedication.

Finally our thanks to local website designers Big Front Door who have created and hosted this fantastic new website for us, to KP Kreative who have helped us with some new match graphics, to photographer Allan Picken for providing the brilliant imagery and of course to our intrepid Webmaster Norrie Jamieson who has been kept very busy updating two websites for the last few weeks as we prepared for launch!

Have a good look around and let us know what you think. This is after all YOUR website so post us a message on the Suggestion Wall and let us know your thoughts.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to our new look website and give a huge thank you to all those who helped with the redesign of the site and in particular "Big Front Door" who were responsible for turning all the good ideas into reality.

For me this also represents a perfect opportunity to mark the beginning of a new era both on and off the park.

Our partnership with Smisa is in its earlier stages but I am very comfortable that we are heading in the right direction and that, together, we can create a successful fan ownership model over the next 10 years.

I am also very happy how quickly we have gelled as a board and while everybody is still finding their feet I know we will all have a very positive input in taking the club forward.

We have had the keys now for 2 months and feel that, although we are moving in the right direction behind the scenes, we were not progressing on the park or in terms of our communication with our support.

As a result of that and as part of our long term plan we decided to implement some major changes.

The decision to terminate the managers contract was not an easy one. Alex did a tremendous job last year but for some reason it was just not happening this year. People outwith the club and support will consider that we didn't give him enough time and I can understand that. Our job, however, is to do what's best for St Mirren Football Club.

However, at the risk of contradicting myself, I don't think it is any coincidence that the most successful managers are given time to get things right. That does not just require patience and support from the board but also from the stands. Our long term goal is to have a man at the helm who will have an input into all playing aspects of the club with the aim of producing a successful supply chain from the youth system to the first team. It is vital that our new manager buys into that philosophy as well as producing a product on the pitch that we can all enjoy watching.

We have also made the decision to employ a dedicated media manager. We feel that this is now a full time job and is a vital part of improving our communication levels and selling the services of the club going forward with the new website being key to achieving this.

I have stated from the beginning that we need to increase the turnover of the club so that we are competing with the top 6 clubs of the top flight and not flirting between the Premiership and the Championship.

This will not be easy by any manner of means and we are already £125k down on our income levels for next season due to the loss of the SPFL parachute payments. We also have a very financially beneficial agreement with JD sports that we need to make some tough decisions on.

In my previous role within the stadium construction project I promised that I would try and improve the disabled viewing facilities once we had the SPL compliant stadium that was our agreement with tesco. Unfortunately I left the club before I was able to make good on that promise so it has become a key part of my re-incarnation to fulfil that commitment with the new disabled platform in the main stand.

We are also investigating the viability of numerous projects that include the "Love Street Coffee Shop", an advertising board at the Paisley end corner that will be utilised to promote club services and home games as well as being a source of income, a memorial garden, office provision in one of the corners, and making the 1877 bar a standalone facility so it can be better utilised without the entire main stand being open. These things won't happen overnight and most need significant funding but rest assured we are working hard to take the club forward.

My aim is to provide regular updates for the supporters going forward. Please do also record any ideas or suggestions you have on our new "Suggestion Wall" here on the site. Your opinion really does matter.

Without the continued support of you, our loyal fans, and club sponsors none of this will be possible so we ask that you continue to support us in every way you can. We are in this together for the long haul!

It has been confirmed this afternoon that central defender Ben Gordon has gone out on loan to League One side Alloa Athletic until January.

Ben signed for St Mirren for the second time in his career this summer from Livingston and made his debut in the black and white stripes in last weekend’s Ladbrokes Championship match against Queen of the South.

Ben will join the Alloa squad for tomorrow’s match against Queen’s Park.

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

At this afternoon’s 3rd Round draw for the IRN-BRU Cup, St Mirren were drawn to play League One side Albion Rovers

The match is scheduled to take place at Cliftonhill Stadium on the weekend of 3rd/4th September.

The full 3rd Round draw is as follows:

North Section
Alloa Athletic v East Fife
Brechin City v Dunfermline Athletic
Dundee United v Peterhead
Turriff United v Hibernian
Falkirk v Elgin City
Forfar Athletic v Raith Rovers

South Section
Queen of the South v Stenhousemuir
Stranraer v Dumbarton
Livingston v Celtic Colts
Albion Rovers v St Mirren
Ayr United v Airdrieonians
Queen’s Park v Morton