St Mirren

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

A soft penalty, a deflected second-half strike and a couple of big chances spurned.

An opening sentence pulled directly from my big book of 'Timeless St Mirren Sentences to Describe Playing Against Rangers or Celtic'.

Craig McLeish continued with his recent nudge to the Saints' basic shape, picking three starting centre-halves, though opting to bring Louis Jackson in for Henry Fieldson.

In the manager's own words, this switch to starting with three only cements a shape he had already asked his side to follow in-game, though it does ensure an extra defensive body on the pitch to cope with the kind of risk-reward game he is seeking to build.

Once again, compared with the slide of conceding 11 in a three-game spell either side of the September/October international break, the Saints held true to their steadier base to build on and more than held their own for the majority of Saturday night.

Once again, an avoidable (though softer than a marshmallow on a cushion, perched upon a cartoon cloud) penalty undid much of the good defensive work before Dan Neil's deflected strike compounded the misery.

Jacob Chapman made several good saves from efforts Ryan Naderi and others should probably have done better with, yet will feel he had little say in either of the goals that denied him a clean sheet.

Personnel changes in the second half brought more urgency in attack, and both Eseosa Sule and Calvin Ramsay will feel they should have added to their recent goalscoring exploits.

There is a balance to be found between adding that extra defensive body to prevent a collapse and sacrificing the attacking intent which, in the early weeks of the season, made the Saints look like a force to be reckoned with.

Had either (ideally both) Sule or Ramsay taken their chances, the post-match conversation could have been so different.

St Mirren had more possession than Rangers, got the ball forward more often, crossed more frequently, committed fewer fouls yet won more tackles, completed more of their passes and forced their opponents into more clearances.

However, points matter, not statistics, and the Buddies need to find that missing ingredient which brings the two closer together.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Sportscene pundit Andy Halliday analyses St Mirren's missed chances in Saturday's Scottish Premiership defeat to Rangers.

Watch the best of the action from Paisley as Rangers beat St Mirren 2-0. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your views on St Mirren's 2-0 home defeat by Rangers.

Here's what some of you said:

Gus: There's just nothing there. The manager must be replaced. This was a poor Rangers side who against anyone else would be lucky to get a point.

Douglas: Yes we slightly threatened, especially in the second half, but turning pressure into goals isn't a St Mirren trait. If we play like that against most other teams we will run then close, but unless we find a way to the opposition net more regularly then it will be a long struggle... a repetition of last year where our goals for column was terrible.

William: Though it was never a penalty, that's another defeat against an average Rangers team. We are getting closer to the bottom of the league, we can't score and we hear the same song from the manager. Surly we must start thinking about changing the way we play as it's not working.

James: Predictable outcome given Saints' almost total inability to score! Several Rangers fans I watched the game with thought the pen was a joke. But it's expected against the Old Firm so we have to score when we get a good chance and we got two/three chances which weren't taken. We also relied on Jacob Chapman to keep the score down - which he did.

Alan: Where do we begin? The penalty was unbelievable to say the least but not suprised with a certain ref in charge. But even with that we are so punch-drunk in front of goal, it's the same every season. If we don't stop the rot very soon it won't be the play-offs, it will be straight relegation.

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St Mirren manager Craig McLeish: "The result is frustrating obviously and both goals come from us making mistakes leading up to them.

"There are lots of positives from our play tonight - a really good reaction from Motherwell last weekend.

"We got into some really good areas and created good chances. The final pass or final action let us down a bit. We have shown a really high level at points this season, but not consistently enough. That's the next bit for us. If we do that, we will pick up points and win games.

"If that's the criteria for contact in the box to award a penalty, Kabia gets wiped out in the second half after he delivers a cross and I'm not even sure if was looked at. We got an apology after our last game against Rangers after a penalty wasn't given.

"If it isn't given on-field, I don't think VAR gets involved. It's a frustrating one.

"We do lack a little bit at the top end with [Nikolas Agrafiotis] not being around. We have to figure out ways to deal with that.

"There are positive parts of it, but ultimately we've lost the game. We feel we could have done more to at least get a goal and put Rangers under pressure towards the end."

Goals either side of half-time from Ryan Naderi and Dan Neil earned Rangers victory at St Mirren and took the Ibrox outfit within a point of Celtic at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Read the match report.

Have your say.

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St Mirren's Ryan Carr is suspended and fellow midfielder Paul Nsio cannot play against his parent club.

Ismeal Kabia (calf), Nikolas Agrafiotis (calf), Keanu Baccus (Achilles), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain out.

Rangers winger Bedredine Bouanani (illness) and defender Emmanuel Fernandez (ankle) are expected to shake off fitness concerns.

Ross McCrorie, Cammy Devlin, Lawrence Shankland (all hamstring), Daisuke Yokota (groin) and Youssef Chermiti (knee) remains out.

Image source, SNS

Scott Allan believes Saturday night's game at St Mirren is a must-win for Rangers if they're serious about challenging for the title.

Rangers can pile pressure on Celtic, who play Kilmarnock on Sunday, by narrowing the gap at the top to one point with victory in Paisley.

The Ibrox side have failed to win on three of their past four trips to face the Buddies. And while Rangers are in fine from with nine wins in an 11-game unbeaten run, they have drawn half of their six Premiership away matches this season.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, former Hibs, Celtic and Dundee United midfielder Allan said: "If Rangers are serious about putting a real title challenge up then these are the sort of games they have to go and win.

"A few weeks ago at Dens Park, Dundee basically dictated how Rangers played in the first half.

"So Rangers will be looking at trying to right that wrong but for St Mirren, I think they would have to get everything right on the night to get something from Rangers."

Allan believes Rangers are set to "click" at the top end of the park and thinks St Mirren have to score the opener if they are to stage an upset.

"Going forward, Rangers look they're just about to click into gear," he said.

"I think Badredine Bouanani coming into the team has brought something different, he's got that eye for a pass and we've not seen that in a Rangers team for a while.

"St Mirren would have to be all but perfect for me and I just feel it'll be a difficult one for them. They would have to score first."

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Craig McLeish wants to avoid another "hard luck story" when St Mirren face Rangers on Saturday night.

Since moving from the youth set-up to become Buddies boss in March - initially on a temporary basis before making the move permanent in June - McLeish's side have run both Rangers and Celtic close on several occasions.

Most recently, St Mirren lost to a last-gasp goal in a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox, following a 2-1 home defeat to Celtic and a 5-1 defeat away to Rangers in the League Cup.

In his dugout debut for Saints in March, Rangers won 1-0 in Paisley, before St Mirren went down 1-0 at Celtic Park then took the Hoops to extra time in the Scottish Cup semi-final, only to eventually lose 6-2.

McLeish said: "We don't want to be the hard luck story every time we play against them and you get plaudits like, 'oh well done you played well but unlucky again'.

"We don't want that. We want to be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league and come out with positive results and against Rangers and Celtic, we have not managed to do that.

"A couple of the games have got away from us and that's what you're trying to fight against and make sure that the games do go right to the end and you're always in with a chance.

"That's the bit now for us as a group and confidence within the group, to go and get a positive result against one of them - that's probably the next step for us.

"We've had a look at Rangers twice (this season) as well, and we obviously have to change some bits just because of personnel available to us.

"You're just trying to constantly learn and adapt from the games that you're playing against teams.

"You have to take those experiences on and just tweak little bits to it, so there will be little bits that we try and throw at Rangers that they've not seen from us before as well.

"That's what we have to try to do. We have to try and be unpredictable with it."

• Ryan Naderi's eight goal involvements (5 goals, 3 assists) have been worth nine points to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this season, second only to St Johnstone's Josh Fowler (10 points) among players for all sides.

• Rangers have lost just one of their past 16 league visits to St Mirren (W11 D4), a 2-1 defeat in December 2024 under Philippe Clement.

• St Mirren have lost four successive meetings with Rangers in all competitions, including twice already this season - 5-1 in the League Cup and 1-0 in the league.

• St Mirren have won just one of their past eight league games (D1 L6), although are unbeaten in two at home (W1 D1).

• Rangers are unbeaten in nine league matches (W7 D2) but have drawn their past two away, both 2-2 stalemates at Dundee and Hearts.

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

Rock, meet hard place.

In the three games since Craig McLeish reinstated PA3's familiar back three set-up (in name, at least), the Buddies have arrested the slide of conceding at will that dominated the second month (or so) of their season.

A single goal conceded in each of the win over Dundee, draw with Hibs and narrow loss to Motherwell is in stark contrast to the 11 that poured in over the three defeats prior.

There are plenty of arguments that the back three system adopted is more 'progressive' than it might seem, for lack of a better word.

Calvin Ramsay's rampages into the final third versus Dundee and plenty of further positional rotations are evidence of that. However, the return of Marcus Fraser and familiar support around Alex Gogic has restored something like the usual security to the Saints backline which has defined so much of the past few years.

Goals conceded are one thing, but perhaps the more important metric are shots on target. Hibs' bundled opener was their only shot on target.

Motherwell managed a mere two, though handing them a late one from the penalty spot was always likely to end in tears.

Both sides had plenty of the ball and plenty of chances created, with some misses constituting the riding of luck for the Saints, but conceding in flurries appears to have been successfully interrupted.

However, this shift comes with a cost. The Saints have toiled to create with the same conviction and frequency that defined the more promising moments of the early season. A body less in midfield, more discipline required than carrying a free role behind the striker, and the roads to attacking intent have visibly narrowed.

Injuries to key figures are not helping, with Ismeal Kabia and Nikolas Agrafiotis seemingly holding irreplaceable qualities in the current squad - lumping pressure on Eseosa Sule, Chris Mochrie and others to contort themselves into playing another's game.

Rangers await at the weekend and the ineligible Paul Nsio will join the suspended Ryan Carr in sitting this one out.

With a full complement available, the challenge would have been significant enough. As it stands, the manager will need to pull something from somewhere to repeat the quality shown on the side's most recent visit to Ibrox.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

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When Sheffield United sacked manager Chris Wilder and appointed Ruben Selles in June 2025, Miguel Freckleton hoped his fortunes might change for the better at Bramall Lane.

Instead, as Freckleton remembers it, Selles was quick to tell the defender he was not in his plans.

Freckleton's mindset was clear: "I'm not wanted here no more so let's find the quickest way out and let's get the show on the road."

There was interest from League One, but St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson was "very persuasive, but also very real" and convinced Freckleton to head to Scotland.

"I went in and we played Celtic for the first game of the season. We ended up losing 1-0, but it was like, 'wow, I need to be a part of this'," Freckleton recalls.

"It was just a crazy experience of 65,000 fans in there. It was packed, everyone singing."

As well as reaching the Scottish Cup semi-finals, St Mirren won the League Cup. They met Celtic in their last match in both competitions, winning 3-1 in the League Cup final last December.

"I think winning the trophy was definitely the best feeling I've had on the pitch," Freckleton says.

"We really were underdogs. To experience it and then also come out on top against Celtic in a final was just so surreal."

Read more: From Mangotsfield United to Champions League dream

Motherwell end their long wait for a win with a narrow victory over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership (UK only).

St Mirren fans, we asked for your views after Saturday's Scottish Premiership defeat to Motherwell.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Gus: Time is up for Craig McLeish, bad coaching and tactics. I feel sorry for the players. The board should come clean and admit it was a reckless appointment

Douglas: It was an insipid performance. It looked for all intents and purposes in the last 20 minutes that we were playing it out for a point. A very soft but obvious penalty undid all that. Despite the fact the manager stated that he was going to freshen up the side for the game, the line-up was much the same as usual, which was safety first and sideways or backwards passes as opposed to looking forward. Carry on in this vein and we will be in trouble again this season.

Dougie: Once again Saints fail badly in the final third, their goalkeeper was never worked. We play with one forward, how do we expect to win that way? Motherwell attacked with five or six players in or around our area, we have one or two at most. Rangers next week? Oh dear. Change the system or we will continue to slide down to rock bottom.

William: It's now time to rethink. The current project is not working, it's not good to watch, it's not exciting, it's boring and predictable. It's time for the chairman to stop this and bring in a coach that can get a very average squad to work and win some games.

John: One win in eight league games, giving away penalties like sweeties, Rangers and Celtic up next. What a mess. New Manager, largely new team, but the same downward spiral in league form that we saw last season. The next home game against Killie is looking way bigger than a six-pointer.

James: Another poor performance in which Saints offered almost nothing in an attacking sense. Motherwell haven't won for two months but they beat us. It was a soft penalty but if you have no real attacking presence, you are always vulnerable to losing a game late on - as nearly happened against Hibs too. Current performances make you re-evaluate why you are a long term season ticket holder watching such fare.

Lukas Fadinger's penalty helped Motherwell to a first Scottish Premiership win in almost two months despite missing a glut of chances against St Mirren.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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St Mirren boss Craig McLeish: "We didn't do enough to test Motherwell, I don't think their goalkeeper had a save to make.

"We got into some promising areas but lacked a bit of quality in the final third. There were some really promising periods and got into promising areas but didn't manage to take advantage of them. Motherwell maybe feel a bit aggrieved that they didn't take more of their chances.

"Motherwell started the game well, had a lot of energy about them. We had to fix a little bit of our press after the first 15 minutes and I thought after we did that we took control of parts of the game without really offering too much in the final third.

"I've not seen it back yet [the penalty]. Our view from the dug out, it looks like he's [Henry Fieldson] pushed into the ball. No one is denying it's touched his arm but from us it looks like he's pushed into it. It's a sore one for us to take, it's another penalty we've given away and today it decided the game.

"We have to be tough to play against but we also have to carry a threat, we were lacking that today."

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Motherwell could have Oscar Priestman, Paul McGinn and Callum Hendry back. Dylan Williams (hamstring), Alex Lowry (knee) and Johnny Koutroumbis (muscle) remain out.

Ismeal Kabia has been added to St Mirren's injury list with a calf tear. Nikolas Agrafiotis (calf), Keanu Baccus (Achilles), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain out.

• Motherwell have lost their past three home league games without scoring; they last lost four in a row in November 2022 while they haven't gone four league matches at Fir Park without scoring since December 2020.

• Since his first season in the Scottish Premiership in 2024-25, only Daizen Maeda (30), Lawrence Shankland (27) and Martin Boyle (26) have scored more goals than Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise (25), while he's netted in each of his past three league games against St Mirren.

• Only Aberdeen (16) have lost more away games in the Premiership since the start of last season than St Mirren (15), who could lose four in a row for the first time since December 2023 (run of six).

• Motherwell are unbeaten in nine league meetings with St Mirren (W4 D5), keeping a clean sheet in three of their past four.

• St Mirren have won just one of their latest nine league visits to Motherwell (D3 L5), a 1-0 triumph in September 2023.

Calum Macdonald
BBC Sport Scotland

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St Mirren manager Craig McLeish has been speaking to the media before the Premiership fixture away to Motherwell on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key points:

• McLeish hopes Killian Phillips stays until the end of the season, but admits the midfielder may leave in January if the club receive a suitable offer.

• The St Mirren boss praised Phillips for his efforts despite the speculation. "I don't think Killian is any rush with it, he just focuses on playing football, he's brilliant to have about the place, he's not let it distract him," McLeish says.

• He expects a tough match at Fir Park and says 10th-place Motherwell are in a "false position with how their playing" despite a run of seven games without victory.

• McLeish doesn't think the 3-3 draw earlier in the season will have much bearing on Saturday's fixture: "We need to treat this game completely separately, if we're at our absolute best then we can go anywhere and pick up three points."

• There are no fresh injury concerns but Ismeal Kabia, who came off last Saturday in the win over Dundee, is unlikely to play again this side of the international break. The forward is being assessed by parent club Arsenal.

We asked for your views after St Mirren scored a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Hibs.

Here's what some of you said:

Eddie: That was a dreadful game of football. Two teams who forgot that the aim of the game was to pass to team-mates. Jacob Chapman (our goalkeeper) was Hibs' most dangerous player.

Bill: Poor game overall. Scrappy with no structure. St Mirren looked much better with Paul Nsio on the park, especially when playing in a more central position.

Peter: Hard-fought game for both sides, if Saints take their chances near the end it's three points. Our subs made a big difference and maybe should have been sent on earlier.

Stuart: With Killian Phillips still wandering about midfield Hibs quickly took control but finishing too poor. Buddies pedestrian, mainly crossfield passes and no shots on target. Was Saturday an outlier?

Robert: It took going a goal down and the introduction of Jake Young to spark any intensity and purpose into a poor St Mirren performance. They were lacklustre and passive for much of the game. Why Eseosa Sule is preferred to Young is a mystery. A welcome point on a night when things could have been a lot worse, had Hibs been more clinical in creating chances.

Douglas: An extremely disappointing show from Saints and very lucky to get a point. So many misplaced passes. Playing out from the back will cost Saints a lot of goals this season. The players can't cope with it. Distribution by the goalkeeper was awful. No sense of any player running off the ball. Just an unacceptable performance. Play like that on Saturday and we will suffer badly.

Watch the best of the action as St Mirren snatch a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with boss and deny Marink Reedijk a first win since taking charge at Easter Road. Available to UK users only.