St Mirren

If you could only buy one, sell one, and loan out one player at St Mirren, who would you pick?

That was the question we asked you to answer, with the transfer window now open.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Eddie: Loan out Peter Urminsky, sign Simon Murray. Strange as it may seem I would not sell anybody.

Iain: We desperately need a goalscorer, that must be the priority for the manager. The defence and midfield are strong but up front has always been a problem.

Joe: Sign Simon Murray.

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St Mirren have signed midfielder Oisin Smyth from Oxford United on a two-year deal.

The Northern Irishman, 24, started his career with Dungannon Swifts, making more than 100 appearances before joining Oxford in January 2022.

He departs having played 25 games and scored one goal for the English Championship newcomers.

On his move to St Mirren, Smyth said: "Following the club last season and seeing how well they did was a massive factor. There were a few factors that caught my attention so I'm glad to get the deal over the line.

"My initial chats with the manager were very positive. The main thing we spoke on was development and how he is able to make players better. I wanted to come here and play and enjoy football again so that's the main aim."

Smyth becomes Saints' third summer arrival following full-back Shaun Rooney and goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe.

Manager Stephen Robinson is thrilled to land "another really good footballer".

Robinson added: "He’s someone I know from back home. He got a good move to Oxford but didn’t play as much as he wanted and comes in at that age bracket we like.

"He’s got lot of development and lots of game time to come. He can play in numerous different positions, he can play as a six or an eight."

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Danny Lennon is thrilled the eyes of the football world are on two of his former St Mirren proteges as Scotland prepare to open Euro 2024 against hosts Germany.

Lennon, 55, gave talisman John McGinn his professional debut as an 18-year-old in 2012 when he was in charge of Saints and also handed a teenage Kenny McLean his Buddies bow in 2010.

Both of the Paisley academy graduates played a big part in helping Scotland qualify for Euro 2024 last year, and Lennon is hoping to see the Aston Villa and Norwich midfielders prosper in Germany.

Steve Clarke’s side kick off Euro 2024 against Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Friday.

“It’s always nice when you’ve worked with players and you see them progress to the level John and Kenny have gone to,” said Lennon.

“You could tell at a young age they had ability but what’s got to come along with ability is the character, determination and attitude, and the two of them have that in abundance.

“I started John McGinn in a cup final at 18 years of age so that’s how much faith and belief I had in him,” he said.

“I’ve only had a wee helping hand in his career, like every other coach he’s had – it’s John who has put himself on this stage – but you could certainly see at an early age the talent that he had."

The transfer window opens on Friday and we want to know what matters to you most this summer.

If you could only buy one, sell one and loan out one player at St Mirren, who would you pick?

Click here, external to let us know.

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St Mirren have confirmed their pre-season schedule, which includes four friendlies and a warm weather training camp.

Stephen Robinson's side will travel to Spain for a week and start their 2024-25 preparations at the Pinatar Arena.

The Buddies will take on Championship side Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park when they return in early July.

There will be a Renfrewshire derby the following Tuesday when they face Greenock Morton at Cappielow.

Robinson's men then host English League Two sides Fleetwood Town and Carlisle United before their Europa Conference League qualifying campaign begins at the end of the month.

St Mirren's pre-season fixtures:

• Dunfermline Athletic v St Mirren, 6 July (15:00)

• Greenock Morton v St Mirren, 9 July (19:45)

• St Mirren v Fleetwood Town, 13 July (15:00)

• St Mirren v Carlisle United, 19 July (19:30)

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Representatives from Celtic, Hibernian and Ross County feature on the SPFL board for the 2024-25 season.

County director James MacDonald, Hibs non-executive chairman Malcolm McPherson and Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson make up the Premiership contingent.

Paul Hetherington (Airdrieonians) and Graeme Mathie (Ayr United) will represent the Championship, while Andrew Allan (Alloa Athletic) and Allan Maitland (Clyde) have been elected for League 1 and 2.

In a statement, the SPFL say clubs also "voted unanimously" to approve a recommendation that a new Ifab protocol for permanent concussion substitutes is used across all SPFL competitions.

"Each team will be allowed one concussion substitute per match in addition to the normal number of substitutes and substitution opportunities," they say.

"If that concussion substitute is used, the other team is allowed an additional substitute."

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St Mirren and Kilmarnock have offered their congratulations to Stephen McGinn after he announced his retirement from professional football.

The former Buddies captain made 203 appearances over two spells at the Paisley club and was an important part in helping them secure promotion back to the top flight in 2018.

The midfielder also had spells at Kilmarnock, where he also won the Championship title, Hibernian and most recently captained Falkirk in their historic unbeaten season in the third tier.

St Mirren's Kieran Offord will join Northern Irish club Crusaders on loan next season.

The 20-year-old forward spent last term at Edinburgh City and Stirling Albion, scoring five goals in across the two spells.

St Mirren retain the right to recall Offord in January.

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Caolan Boyd-Munce marked his international debut for Northern Ireland with an assist in an eventual 5-1 defeat to Spain.

Michael O'Neill's side threatened a shock in Mallorca as the St Mirren midfielder's inch-perfect free-kick was headed home by Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard inside 70 seconds.

Their celebrations were short-lived as Spain came roaring back, finding themselves 4-1 up by the 35th minute.

Barcelona wonderkid Pedri bagged a brace, before Alvaro Morata and Fabian Ruiz got on the scoresheet, with Mikel Oyarzabal of Real Sociedad netting in the second half.

Boyd-Munce was replaced at the interval as Northern Ireland moved into damage limitation-mode, but that free-kick will live long in the memory of the 24-year-old.

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The results are in. And they may be a surprise.

We asked you to cast your vote on whether the Scottish Premiership should keep VAR or scrap it.

More than 3,000 of you responded to the poll - and while there was a clear majority, it was no landslide.

Those in favour of ditching VAR totalled 67% of voters, while 33% were in favour of favour of keeping it.

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BBC Scotland will continue to broadcast live matches and highlights from the Scottish Cup for another five years.

The new deal extends the BBC's arrangement of showing a game from each round - up to and including the final - on a free-to-air platform.

The contract also allows the broadcaster to produce "near live digital highlights".

The Scottish Youth Cup final will also be shown live for the next five years.

• Read the full story

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Controversy and VAR have been intertwined ever since its implementation in the Scottish top flight in October 2022.

From handball decisions to fouls and penalties, managers and fans alike have had grievances over the technology - and the length of time taken for decisions to be made.

With the 2023-24 season complete and the new campaign a number of weeks away, would you rather see VAR scrapped from Scottish football or persevered with?

Cast your vote here.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is on a list of possible candidates for Sunderland if they miss out on their top target Will Still. (Scottish Sun), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

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We asked you to name St Mirren's best cult hero signings - the player that showed up with little expectation (and perhaps ability) but won over the support.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Craig: Jim Goodwin epitomises passion over talent, not the best player I've ever seen at Saints, but an unbelievable leader on the pitch.

Anon: Inan Scanlon comes into that category but so did Doug Somner as Saints picked him up and others ignored him. He certainly knew his way to the net!

Anthony: Andy Dorman, what a player.

Ewan: As a fairly young Saints fan the first name that comes to my head is Andy Dorman, that man just didn't do tap-ins.

Alistair: The player most remembered as a cult hero has to be Super Stelios Demetriou, the bounty eater who helped win the 2017/18 Championship. Played 46 times, won the league and disappeared back into obscurity but left a lasting memory.

Grant: It’s a toss up between Alex Gogic and my childhood hero Guni Torfason. What a player and guy he was. Swaggered into the club with the long hair and scored a few goals.

Image source, BBC Sport

Oxford United midfielder Oisin Smyth is close to joining St Mirren. (Belfast Telegraph), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

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Former St Mirren striker Jon Obika has retired from playing and taken a role on Motherwell's coaching staff for next season.

Obika, 33, joined the Buddies in summer 2019 for a two-year spell, making 77 appearances and scoring 20 goals.

After a spell with Morecambe he returned north to join Motherwell, initially on loan, in February 2023, but was restricted to just 14 appearances last season because of a recurring hamstring problem.

He hangs up his boots having played more than 400 games in a 15-year career that started at Tottenham and included spells at clubs including Crystal Palace, Brighton and Oxford.

Players come and go, but sometimes a new face will arrive and win the hearts of supporters unexpectedly.

Who's the lesser-remembered player that showed up at St Mirren with little expectation and perhaps had more passion than talent, but turned into a hero loved across the fanbase?

Give us your shout. , external

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Chief executive Neil Doncaster says crowd figures are "hugely promising" after the SPFL broke its attendance record for the second year running.

Over 5.15m supporters took to the stands to watch their side across all SPFL competitions in 2023-24, covering the Premiership, Championship, League 1, League 2, League Cup and the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The year-on-year figure marks an increase of 64,122 on the season prior's record high, when the number of people attending SPFL matches surpassed 5m for the first time.

A total of of 4,746,052 fans attended games across the four divisions, with Premiership matches attracting 3,760,765.

Scotland continues to have the best attendances figures per capita across its top four divisions in Europe with 21.3 per 1000 people - 65% ahead of second-placed the Netherlands.

Doncaster said: “After topping five million fans across an SPFL season for the first time in season 2022/23, it is hugely promising to see attendances growing even further this season.

“Our supporters are renowned across the world for their dedication and passion and regularly record the highest per capita attendance in Europe."

The Nat 5’s and Highers are over (or just about) but there’s still plenty of swotting going on in Paisley. Geography of course and a bit of economics.

Along the lines of where is Kutaisi? Or Dudelange? And how can I afford to get there?

All because the Buddies are returning to the European stage for the first time since the 1980s. Their reward for a fifth-place finish in the Premiership is one of the 86 places in the ‘main path’ of qualifying for the Europa Conference League.

Stephen Robinson’s side enter at the second qualifying round. (there’s two more after that) so the road to Wroclaw starts on 25 July.

That’s where the final is, but let’s not get carried away. Reaching the revamped Conference League of 36 teams would be a big achievement.

A couple of new faces have already been recruited for the big European push. Defender Shaun Rooney, who scored the winning goals in both the Scottish Cup and League Cup finals with St Johnstone in 2021, joins after a couple of seasons at Fleetwood Town.

Then there’s the new goalkeeper, Ellery Balcombe, who moves on loan from Brentford. Surely more will follow, perhaps attracted by the promise of European football.

The core of the team that qualified for Europe is still there, including player of the year Alex Gogic, who has signed a new contract. So far so good but more new arrivals are required.

We’ve seen clubs suffer domestically when trying to balance the challenge of performing in European competition – that’s the big test. Is it likely the Buddies can do well in Europe and pull off another top-six finish in the Premiership?

I can’t wait to find out.

Now, which budget airline flies to Azerbaijan?

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Four Premiership players from three clubs feature in Australia's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Hibernian forward Martin Boyle has been named in Graham Arnold's 25-man set-up, along with Hearts duo Cammy Devlin and Kye Rowles.

Departing St Mirren right-back Ryan Strain, who is set to leave the club when his contract expires this summer, is also in there.

The Socceroos take on Bangladesh and Palestine next month.

Image source, SNS/BBC

Just five players featured in every single minute of their side's Scottish Premiership season.

Jack Butland, Liam Kelly, Dimitar Mitov, Zach Hemming and, finally, Alex Gogic. There's one crucial difference between St Mirren's Cypriot warrior and the rest of the quintet.

He's not allowed to use his hands.

While the goalkeepers deserve credit for their durability - including fellow Buddie Hemming - Gogic spent the season getting stuck into the action as Stephen Robinson's side ended their long wait for European football.

St Mirren's player of the year earned the adoration of the Paisley faithful with his bravery, in-game intelligence and ultimately, his commitment in the form of a three-year contract extension.

Could he repeat the feat next year?