Cammy Smith says the team are looking forward to facing table topping Hibernian this evening as the Buddies welcome Neil Lennon's side to the Paisley 2021 Stadium for the second time this season.

Saints are in good form ahead of the clash with the Leith side, having won three matches on the bounce.

And while Cammy realises tonight's match is going to be a difficult one, he believes that the team are looking forward to it and feels they are more than capable of picking up a result.

It'll be a tough game," he told stmirren.com. "They are top of the league for a reason so it'll be a very hard game. But we know what we're capable of and we know if we put the effort in and we do the basics right we'll be in there with a chance.

"It's definitely a game we're looking forward to," he continued. "It should be a good game with a good crowd again and one we're all looking forward to."

Saints come into tonight's match on the back of a 2-0 win over Ayr United in the Ladbrokes Championship on Saturday. 

The loanee admits that the win over the Honest Men was hugely significant and praised the character shown by the team to get the win.

Yeah it was massive," he confessed. "The manager emphasised how big a game it was and it really was a must win in certain ways. To get the win was the most important thing but to play the way we did under that pressure was good. The fans travelled down and they were very vocal and they realised we put in a good performance.

 "I think it shows how much we really want to do this - for the club, for each other and for the staff. I think we are all in it together now and it has to be that way. Every single game from now until the end of the season has to be 100% effort and we have to get as many points on the board as we can.

"The situation we're in we know we've got a big task on our hands. But we know we're capable of doing it with the performances we've shown in the last month. It's a big week ahead of tonight and Sunday but it's just a game at a time and all focus is on Hibs."

Cammy joined the club towards the end of the January transfer window and says he's enjoyed his time at the Buddies so far. The forward has made a positive impact to side and scored his first goal against East Fife in the Scottish Cup a few weeks ago.

It's been a really good four to six weeks," he said. "The main factor has been playing, but the manager has been really great with me and in the changing room all the boys are great. 

"I think it helped that there was a lot of new signings at the same time as me. But it's been easy settling in. The club has looked after me well and the boys have been brilliant with me. Getting results on the park help the team spirit and I think that team spirit will be vital over the next two or three months leading into the end of the season."

St Mirren welcome table toppers Hibernian to the Paisley 2021 Stadium tonight as Saints look for a fourth successive win in all competitions. 

The Buddies come into this evening's match on the back of a 2-0 win over Ayr United at Somerset Park on Saturday which made it three wins on the spin for Jack Ross' side. Second half goals from John Sutton and Lewis Morgan secured all three points and gave Saints their third league win of the season.

That victory came after a 4-1 win over The New Saints in the IRN-BRU Cup and a 3-2 triumph against East Fife in the Scottish Cup and represents Saints' best form of the season with just three defeats in the last 13. It's also the first time the Buddies have won three matches on the bounce since the 2012/13 season.  

Tonight's visitors failed to win a league match in February; drawing with Ayr United, Raith Rovers and, most recently, Dunfermline Athletic. They did, however, defeat Edinburgh rivals Hearts in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, beating the Jambos 3-1 at Easter Road after having drawn 0-0 with them at Tynecastle 10 days earlier.

Martin Boyle and Jason Cummings were on target in their last match in the Ladbrokes Championship against Dunfermline Athletic at Easter Road on Saturday. Their goals put the Hibees 2-0 up before the Pars struck back with goals from ex-Saint Paul McMullan and Kallum Higgbotham to grab a share of the spoils. 

Neil Lennon's side completed moves to bring in defensive pair Efe Ambrose and Brian McLean on short-term deals to cover a deepening injury crisis and both are eligible to play in tonight's match. 

Saints have a victory over Hibernian this season, with a 2-1 win over Neil Lennon's side in the IRN-BRU Cup at Easter Road in October. Stephen Mallan scored a brilliant first half free kick to level after Alex Harris had given the Hibees the lead minutes early, before David Clarkson's 82nd minute effort was enough to send the Buddies into the quarter-final stage of the Challenge Cup. 

You have to go back to 19th April 2014 for Saints last win against Hibs in league competition. The Scottish Premiership match at Paisley saw Saints run out 2-0 winners thanks to early strikes from Kenny McLean and Paul McGowan. 

With tonight's game being top versus bottom both sides have it all to play for when the whistle sounds for kick-off this evening. For the Buddies, they will be looking to cut the gap over Ayr United to five points after the Honest Men defeated Raith Rovers last night in the hopes of moving off the bottom spot. While Hibs will be looking to get back to winning ways in the league as they plot a return to the Scottish Premiership. 

Saints travel to Somerset Park tomorrow to face Ayr United in what will be a huge match in the Ladbrokes Championship. 

The Buddies sit at the bottom of the league - eight points behind Ian McCall's side - in the battle to avoid the drop to League One.

The teams have already met four times this season with Saints coming out on top twice with the other two ending in 1-1 draws. 

The first clash between the sides came in July as the Honest Men visited the Paisley 2021 Stadium in the newly reformed Betfred Cup. Jack Baird was the Saints hero that evening with a 92nd minute goal gaining the Buddies three points in Group G on a stifling hot night in Paisley. 

They met again in August, this time at Somerset Park in league action, with Tom Walsh scoring a late headed goal to rescue a point for the Buddies after Jamie Adams had given the hosts an early lead. 

The IRN-BRU Cup quarter-final was the stage of the next encounter as Jack Ross' side played host to McCall's Honest Men. Andy O'Connell fired the visitors in front with a little over 20 minutes to go and looked to have gained his side a place in the last four of the cup. But the Buddies battled back as John Sutton scored two in two minutes to seal Jack Ross' first win as St Mirren manager. 

Just before Christmas, Ayr came to the Paisley 2021 Stadium again as the teams faced off for the second time in the Ladbrokes Championship. Lawrence Shankland missed a great chance to put the Buddies ahead in the second half as he sent a penalty wide before Paul Cairney fired the visitors ahead. Sutton grabbed his third goal in two games against Ayr when he bulleted home a header with less than ten minutes to go to secure a share of the spoils. 

While nothing will be decided on the back of tomorrow's match, it will likely play a significant role in how the rest of the season plays out. And with very little between the two sides this season there's every chance we could be in for another close encounter. 

It's a 'Battle of Britain' for St Mirren this Sunday as the Buddies take on Welsh side The New Saints at The Paisley 2021 Stadium in the IRN-BRU Cup semi-final. 

The last time the Paisley Saints were involved in a competitive battle of Britain was back in 1980 as the Buddies defeated Bristol City over two legs to claim glory in the Anglo-Scottish Cup. 

The Buddies have seen off Albion Rovers, Hibernian and Ayr United to reach the last four, while our opposition has defeated Forfar and Livingston on their run to the semi-finals. 

St Mirren's journey began back in September when the side came from 2-0 down to defeat Albion Rovers 4-3 after extra time. That set up a fourth round clash with Hibernian at Easter Road and whilst the Hibees were the favourites, the Buddies again came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Stephen Mallan and David Clarkson. And once again Saints did it the hard way in the quarter-finals as they fell behind to Ayr United before claiming victory courtesy of two late strikes from John Sutton - goals that earned him the IRN-BRU's player of the round. 

The New Saints entered the competition at the fourth round stage and faced a long journey as they took on Forfar Athletic at Station Park in October. Greg Draper scored a hat-trick for the Welsh side, with two in the last 10 minutes, to help them see off the Loons. It was another trip to Scotland for TNS when they faced Livingston in the quarter-finals where they defeated the Lions emphatically, winning 3-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena. 

The Buddies form in cup competitions has been near flawless with the Saints prevailing in nine out of 10 ties in all cup competitions this season. The most recent coming last week away to East Fife, where Cammy Smith's first goal for St Mirren was added to by a double from Lewis Morgan to send the Buddies into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. 

Meanwhile, the visitors have been breaking records this season after eclipsing Ajax's 44 year-old world record for consecutive matches won in top flight football. The Welsh side have only lost on two occasions all season. The first came against Cypriot side APOEL in Champions League qualifying back in July before their first league defeat of the season came last week at the hands of Carmarthen Town.

The New Saints will visit with two players familiar with Scottish football in the form of Jon Routledge, formerly of Hamilton Accies and Dumbarton, and Steven Saunders who also played for the Sons along with Ross County and Motherwell.

Sunday's match will be an intriguing tie as St Mirren face Welsh opposition for the first time in competitive football. With a final place at stake it's all to play for in the battle of the Saints.  

Jack Ross believes there is a huge incentive for his players to progress in the Scottish Cup, ahead of his side’s fifth round tie against East Fife.

The Buddies manager told stmirren.com: “Being a cup tie and the incentive of a quarter final place makes it an exciting match for us. The opportunity of progressing to the last eight of any competition, for any player, any manager, should be huge for anyone”

Our cup form has been excellent, across different cup competitions. If you look at our last ten games results they have been okay. We have won three, lost three and drawn four.

 "In different circumstances our form is all right still not brilliant but the position we find ourselves in means we have to be better than that.”

Now, ten days after the transfer window has closed, Ross believes that the squad has improved and there comes more challenges with the intake of new players.

He said: “I feel we have a stronger squad now. The challenge is to gel them together and some are playing catch up, but the fact we have had another week of training should help us ahead of tomorrow as well.”

The manager feels the new recruits are settling in well at the Paisley 2021 and believes that will continue as they train more as a group.

He said: “Some of them I knew, and that was an important part, I like the trust element, working with players you trust.

"Harry Davis only came in on Thursday and by the Saturday he is still getting to know player’s names. With another weeks training he feels a lot more comfortable, and he looks good in training.

With such a contrast with between league and cup form Ross still prepares the Saints in the same manner no matter which competition his team are playing in.

“How we prepare from a training and an analysis point of view is exactly the same," Jack admitted. "East Fife in a cup-tie is treated exactly the same as if it were Hibs in a league game.

Whether the players find a release with it being a cup game I do not know, they can only answer that themselves. People may think that is the case with the cup form, it may just be we have had our rewards with the cup this season.”

St Mirren head to Bayview Stadium in Methil tomorrow to take on East Fife in the Scottish Cup. 

Saints qualified for the fifth round of the cup after defeating Premiership side Dundee 2-0 at Dens Park last month. 

The Buddies last game, away to Dumbarton, showed a more clinical St Mirren side. The Saints had five shots with three on target, in a 2-2 draw with the Sons with goals from David Clarkson and debutant Harry Davis. 

While St Mirren still sit at the bottom of the league, the Saints' cup form throughout the season is cause for encouragement following eight wins from nine ties. In the third round, Jack Ross' side seen off Lowland League team Spartans, 5-1 at the Paisley 2021 to set up the fourth round tie with Dundee. 

East Fife’s League form has been encouraging for the Fifers. Saturday’s hosts have gone eight games without a defeat in the league, with their last coming at home, losing 1-0 to Queens Park, back on 19 November.

Their last five results have seen three draws and two wins, with one win over, runaway league one leaders, Livingston, on Hogmanay. This leaves the Fifer’s in fifth place in the league and still in contention for a promotion play-off place.

East Fife’s last match showed how aggressive they could be, with 12 shots, eight on target, six corners and 12 fouls committed as they drew 2-2 with Queens Park. 

The last round of the Scottish cup seen East Fife, once again, beat Livingston, 1-0. However, in the previous round The Fifers had to rely on a cup replay win over struggling League two side Edinburgh City after a draw at Bayview.

The Methil side have been on great form with thanks to top scorers Jamie Insall, who has scored six league goals, and Kevin Smith and Scott Robinson, who have both scored five.

With eight games undefeated, conceding just five in that time and seven clean sheets this season, East Fife are not to be taken lightly.

Saints travel to Dumbarton tomorrow afternoon for the third meeting of the two sides in the Ladbrokes Championship this season. 

The Buddies have yet to win against the Sons this season with a draw and a loss in the two meetings between the teams. In September, the now departed Ryan Hardie scored a first half equaliser cancelling out Andy Stirling's early effort. While, as has often been the case when the two sides face off, Garry Fleming was the scourge of St Mirren in November when his 63rd minute goal gave Dumbarton a 1-0 win at the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

St Mirren's last win against Dumbarton came in February 2016 when Lawrence Shankland scored in the second half to secure a 1-0 win for the Buddies.  

Jack Ross' side will look vastly different to the one that has faced Dumbarton already this season after an overhaul in the playing staff during the January transfer window. The manager has confirmed that Ben Gordon and Rocco Quinn are still out on the injured list while Lewis McLear is doubtful due to a hamstring problem. He also confessed that Stephen Mallan is currently 50/50 after a problem with his knee.

New signings Adam Eckersley and Harry Davis will be in line to make their debuts after signing deals with the club on transfer window deadline day. Saints will also be lining up with a new captain after the announcement that Stephen McGinn will now be skipper.

One of the players that left the club in January was Calum Gallagher who joined Stephen Aitken's men. Gallagher made 54 appearances during his time at St Mirren scoring eight goals. Gallagher has featured twice off the bench for the Sons since signing. Another ex-Saint likely to feature for Dumbarton is Stuart Carswell who left the Buddies in the summer. 

There doesn't tend to be much between the Saints and the Sons when the two meet with neither team winning by more than a one goal margin since The Buddies came down to the Championship last season so another close encounter could be on the cards.

MANAGER'S THOUGHTS

"We play against a team that's in as good a form as anybody in this league. The run they've been on recently has been terrific and they deserve a huge amount of credit for it."

"We need to go and put a consistent run together and if we can do that then we'll have a positive end to the season. I believe in the group and I think it's a stronger group now."

"Adam is someone I've worked with previously at Hearts and played a big part in Hearts winning the Championship. He was a popular player amongst the players and supporters. It's a big asset for us.

"Harry's played a couple of hundred games at a good level in England and he's a good age. He's up here determined to prove how good he is and the incentive for him is that he can become a hero if he's part of a side that goes and gets us out of the situation we find ourselves in. They both come into the squad for the game." 

Cammy Smith is ready and raring to go should he be called into action against Falkirk tomorrow. 

The attacking midfielder put pen to paper last night to complete his loan move to the Saints from parent club Aberdeen.

And 21 year-old says he can't wait to get going after training with his new side for the first time this afternoon.

It's good to get down and get the first training session done with the lads," he said. "It was something I knew was in the pipeline for a couple of days and I spoke with the manager and he really sold it to me. Although we're down at the bottom of the league I firmly believe that we've got the players to manage to stay up. 

"I've been at Dundee United the last six months playing games, but then I fell out the team. I felt there was no point sitting about there and I spoke to the manager at Aberdeen and agreed it would be best to come out on loan to get as many games as I can. I feel it's a good opportunity and, like I said, when I spoke to the manager here he really sold it to me, came across really well and I'm looking forward to it. 

"I think for the next three or four months I just need to play as much as I can," he continued. "With playing games comes confidence and comes performances so hopefully I can play as many games as I can, find a bit of form and that's what I'm aiming to do. 

"I haven't played in a wee while, but I'm ready. I've been training every day and ready to be called upon.

"Coming in as a new signing you have to come in with enthusiasm and you have to be looking forward to it. There's 15 games left and there's points to be won. Hopefully that starts tomorrow."

Cammy confirmed that he had spoken to the likes of Craig Storie and Kenny McLean ahead of completing his temporary move to the Buddies to get a feel for the club.

I spoke to Craig Storie on the phone the other day and I text Lawrence [Shankland] and they both said very good things about the club," he admitted. "I even spoke to Kenny McLean before I came down and they were all very positive about the club and said it was a great set up.

"I came down last night and got made to feel very welcome and hopefully I can do the business on the park and help get some points on the board."

St Mirren and Falkirk meet for the third this season tomorrow afternoon as they match-up in a Ladbrokes Championship fixture at The Paisley 2021 Stadium.

After a solid start to the season the form of Peter Houston’s side has been indifferent since the turn of December but for all that they still hold on to fourth place in the Championship as they look to get themselves back into the promotion playoffs for the second season running.

The previous meetings between the sides this season have panned out in a 1-1 draw at Paisley on 1st October and a 3-1 win for The Bairns in Falkirk on 3rd December. The match in Paisley saw Craig Sibbald give Falkirk an early lead when his shot from a free-kick took a wicked deflection off the St Mirren defensive wall sending the ball spinning away from Saints’ keeper Jamie Langfield and into the back of the net. Saints eventually got a reward for their efforts thanks to a late equaliser from substitute Tom Walsh who sent the ball flying past Falkirk keeper Danny Rogers.

Lewis Morgan gave Saints an early lead at The Falkirk Stadium in December but Jack Ross’ side were reduced to ten men shortly before the half-time break when Jack Baird was red carded for an off the ball tussle with Lee Miller. It was Miller who pulled The Bairns level two minutes into the second half before late strikes from Bob McHugh and Myles Hippolyte sealed the match for the home side.

Peter Houston has kept things ticking over during the January transfer window going for consolidation in his squad rather than wholesale changes. The month started with the departure of goalkeeper Deniz Dogan Mehmet but Falkirk swooped quickly to sign former Hamilton and Queen of the South keeper Robbie Thomson. The versatile John Rankin then parted ways with The Bairns but his squad slot was filled up rather sharpish with the signing of Canadian internationalist Fraser Aird from Rangers.

Meanwhile over in Paisley, Jack Ross has all but overhauled his squad with to date the departure of seven players who have been replaced with seven coming into the club. The latest departure is 18-year-old Kyle McAllister who signed for Derby County with Aberdeen’s Cammy Smith the latest coming in the way on a loan deal from Premiership side Aberdeen.

St Mirren’s last win against Falkirk was back on 17th October 2009 when Brian McLean gave The Bairns the lead early in the second half at The Falkirk Stadium. But late strikes from Craig Dargo, Billy Mehmet and Tom Brighton saw The Buddies take the points back to Paisley.

Falkirk come into the match on the back of a Scottish Cup loss to Morton while Saints look to build on their win in the same tournament against Dundee. The matches between Saints and Falkirk tend to be exciting match-ups for the fans so there is a good chance we see more of the same tomorrow.

St Mirren and Dundee go head to head tomorrow afternoon for the first time in two years as they meet in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup at Dens Park.

The side from Dens Park had a rocky spell from mid August till the end of October that saw them at the wrong end of the Premiership table, but a haul of sixteen points from the last thirty available has seen Paul Hartley’s side pull themselves away from the relegation zone and a bit closer towards the top six of the Premiership.

Saints and Dundee last met on 24th January 2015 when Saints were fighting a losing battle against relegation from the Premiership. Kenny McLean’s opener five minutes before half-time was overhauled by second half strikes from Gary Irvine and Iain Davidson. Four weeks earlier St Mirren recorded their last win to date against Dundee when a brace from Kenny McLean and a terrific goal from Stevie Mallan made Gary Irvine’s 85th minute goal nothing more than a consolation at Dens Park.

The sides last matched up in the Scottish Cup on 25th January 1998. Steve McCormick and James Grady gave Dundee an early two-goal lead before Saints keeper Alan Combe was red carded. Lee Maddison added a third for Dundee before the change of ends and Grady got on the scoresheet again fifteen minutes into the second half. Saints did mount a mini fightback with goals from Steve Watson and Chris Iwelumo but it was too little too late.

It has been a pretty quiet transfer window thus far for Dundee but Jack Ross has been a busy man with the signings this week of Josh Todd from Dumbarton and goalkeeper Billy O'Brien on loan from Manchester City. On loan Aberdeen man Craig Storie made his debut last week at Dunfermline so Pål Fjelde will be hoping to do the same tomorrow but Rory Loy will have to sit out this tie as Saints face the loan player’s parent club. One familiar face missing tomorrow will be Jason Naismith who played his last match for Saints last weekend with the big defender having since signed for Ross County.

This is Dundee’s first outing in this season’s Scottish Cup tournament but Saints ran out 5-1 winners against Lowland League side Spartans in the last round at the end of November thanks to a brace from Lawrence Shankland and further strikes from Stevie Mallan, Kyle McAllister and John Sutton.

History may be against the Buddies as Dundee have won six of the Scottish Cup match-ups to Saints two but while the Paisley side haven’t faired that well so far this season in league competition they have done exceptionally well in the cups having won seven of the eight ties they have played in this term so they will no doubt be looking to add to that record tomorrow.