St Mirren

We asked for your view on St Mirren's 2-0 loss to Celtic that saw them dumped out of the Scottish Cup. Here's what you said.

JD: The glamour tie of the round proved to be a beautiful distraction for Saints. The real deal is next Saturday at Livingston. We can turn that into a home game if we travel in numbers.

Alan: We need to shoot more from outside the box, we're always trying to walk the ball in. I'd also like to see a bit more grit in our tackling. Celtic were there for the taking and we never took it.

Alistair: We really need a proper striker. 11 corners without scoring at least one of them shows how lacking we are up top.

Were you at the SMISA Stadium on Sunday as St Mirren exited the Scottish Cup, or did you take the game in elsewhere?

Either way we want to hear from you. Give us your take on the game here.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Sportsound he thought his side were "excellent" despite their Scottish Cup exit.

"Ultimately Celtic had two chances and they scored two goals, they were clinical," he said.

"We had chances, and we didn't take them. We hit the crossbar, the ball doesn't break for us, they hit the crossbar and it breaks for them - it's fine margins.

"It's hard for me to criticise any of the players in terms of their work rate and quality on a tough surface, that's the difference in levels. When we are making the game that close with our level of resources then it shows what a g4roup of players we've got.

"We should have defended both goals better, they didn't cut us open or create clear-cut chances. Celtic have to be given credit for the way they defended, we tested them a lot.

"They deserved to win the game because they defended better in one box and they were clinical in the other."

He's been known to pop up with a goal or two, but not of the standard his brace today could have been.

If that bicycle kick was to finish in the back of the net, it would have been a goal talked about for years to come. What could've been.

But outside his chances, he was an engine in the Buddies side. What a season he is having.

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St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Bwomono, Baccus, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Kiltie, Mandron, Jamieson.

Substitutes: Urminsky, Taylor, Brown, Flynn, Mooney, Penman, Olusanya, Scott, Ayunga.

Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Welsh, Scales, Bernabei, McGregor, O'Riley, Palma, Maeda, Idah, Kyogo.

Substitutes: Bain, Kuhn, Yang, Nawrocki, Oh, Iwata, Bernardo, Vata, Kelly.

Follow our live coverage here.

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Assistant manager Diarmuid O’Carroll insists his St Mirren side will "have a go" in the hopes of knocking Celtic out the Scottish Cup.

The Buddies were stunned as Brendan Rodgers' side blew them away from the off in January, but are out for revenge as they look to upset the holders.

“They flew out the traps and people talk about every goal is a mistake by a defender, but they were very, very good for the first 15 minutes in particular, and they blew us away early," O'Carroll said.

“But ultimately from our point of view we were disappointed because it was predictable things that we knew they would do.

“As always, we back ourselves. They are a top, top team with fantastic options, both starting and off the bench, but we fear no-one at the minute.

“It’s one of those cup games, have a go at. There’s no free hits because we don’t believe in that, we believe we can compete with anybody.

“On our day, I don’t think they will enjoy coming to St Mirren, so hopefully we can give them a right good game.”

St Mirren are "hugely disappointed" after the club lost its appeal into the red card shown to James Bolton in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Dundee.

The 29-year-old was dismissed in the 84th minute for a sliding challenge on opposition defender Owen Dodgson.

Referee Steven McLean was asked to review his decision on the VAR monitor, but stuck with his initial judgement.

A club statement read: "St Mirren FC can confirm that our appeal of James Bolton’s red card has been dismissed and James will miss the next two matches.

"Clearly we are hugely disappointed by this. We will be seeking full clarification on the process that reached this decision."

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Cup holders Celtic look a little out of sorts and have a tricky assignment in Paisley.

St Mirren took four points off the champions last season but received three hidings in between and have lost both league meetings this time round, suffering an early blitz at home in the last weekend before the winter break.

Celtic have been unconvincing since the campaign resumed without it being too costly. There have been uncharacteristic struggles in front of goal as chances galore were squandered in the win over Ross County and the draw at Aberdeen, while they created little against Hibs, relying on two penalties to get them over the line.

Their wingers have been subdued and supporters will have been puzzled to see top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi on the bench at Easter Road. The bright note was a confident spot-kick double from new arrival Adam Idah coming after his team's four penalty misses this term.

St Mirren will have noted Hibs and the Dons gave Celtic a fright when taking the shackles off, but that's easier said than done against the heavyweights.

• Themes, figures & shocks: Full Scottish Cup last-16 preview

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David Currie, BBC Sport Scotland

That’s two wins and two clean sheets on the spin now for St Mirren. It’s looking like the winter break and the transfer window have done the Paisley Saints the world of good.

Perhaps a wee bit unfortunate to get something out of the match against Rangers, they’ve racked up wins away to Hibs and at home to Dundee.

Both important victories against rivals in the scrap for a top six finish. The Buddies are now on thirty five points – just nine shy of last year’s 'regular season' total (before the split).

No wonder the February wins at Easter Road and the SMiSA were celebrated so vigorously by players and supporters alike.

With eight rounds of matches remaining grabbing a place in the top six and maybe even a European place looks (and I’m being cautious here) eminently do-able.

The next four league games are against teams currently in the bottom four – Livingston away, St Johnstone at home, Ross County away and Aberdeen at home.

Let’s not get carried away here though. Two of those clubs are only a few points outside the top six and the other two are fighting for Premiership survival.

Is nine points from those four fixtures realistic? Maybe. No doubt Stephen Robinson will eyeing twelve.

His team haven’t yet managed three consecutive wins in the league, so taking care of Livingston on 17 February would be a start.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before that there’s the fifth round of the Scottish Cup to deal with – and a tie against the holders Celtic with a quarter-final place up for grabs. What’s not to like?

Well, the last meeting of the teams provides a cautionary tale. A goal behind in the opening minute, two down in seven and reduced to 10 players before half time, it was a miserable start to 2024.

However, the Buddies’ recent form – and Celtic’s recent performances – will give Robinson and co plenty of confidence going into the tie.

Just as long as they don’t concede in the opening minute and can keep 11 players on the pitch...

We asked for your thoughts after St Mirren's 2-0 win against Dundee.

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

Chris: We look solid, we have competition for places all over the pitch in a system the players now know really well. The goals are being spread around the team and we’re full of confidence - but we’ve been here before with this feeling at the start of the season and followed it up with a dip in form. Europe is possible if we keep this intensity up.

William: Another very welcome three points and surely a lesson for those who hastily missed the chances to put us further ahead. What a joy to read the players' remarks about a happy dressing room and for this reason we must hope, with respect to Aberdeen, to keep them away from our club. Their expectations have derailed the careers of three young managers.

Andy: A fantastic performance by everyone in black and white, a well-deserved three points which keeps us on track for a top-six position.

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St Mirren have submitted an appeal to the SFA over the red card shown to James Bolton in their 2-0 win against Dundee.

Having been booked earlier in the second half for taking down Owen Beck, Bolton was shown a second yellow for his challenge on Owen Dodgson.

Referee Steven McLean was asked to review his decision, but stuck with a straight red.

The appeal is due to be heard on Friday.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "We could have made it more comfortable for ourselves, but we continued to pass the ball and make chances. Dundee owe Trevor Carson, he made a few stunning saves to keep the score down.

"Dundee are a tough nut to crack. They have a lot of experience, they know how to win, and we had to make sure we weren't going to be done by a set piece or counter attack.

"To a man, our organisation was excellent. It was important to follow up Saturday's result and performance. We're going into games with confidence and belief that we can get points.

"Nothing is done at this stage. We have a lot of tough games coming up. Nothing is easy at this level. We need to do the basics right, we've done that well recently."

How big a win is that, St Mirren fans? Is that top six secured?

How were you feeling when James Bolton was sent off? And when Luke McCowan's strike seemed to hit an arm?

Let us know your thoughts here.