St Mirren

We asked for your views on what you want to see from St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Tony: They need to get the ball forward instead of this messing about at the back, it's no wonder we don't score a lot of goals, it's frustrating.

Eddie D: I have said repeatedly that our midfield is not strong enough. Now it looks as if Greg Kiltie is back, we have missed him. Conor McMenamin is hopefully coming back and he will give us a good wide man to get cross balls into the box. Kevin van Veen needs better service and goals will come.

Huey: We require more composure in front of goal and the defence to be more focused from 80 minutes onwards, which is the period when we've been conceding decisive goals. Ellery Balcombe needs to work on coming for crosses and Van Veen needs to get match fit. If we manage to sort out those individual issues, I'm confident we can consolidate a top-six finish.

Eddie M: We have started a bit slow due to injuries and Europe took its toll on the squad. Realistically a top-six place would be good given Aberdeen and Dundee United look strong.

Image source, SNS

• Heart of Midlothian have won 15 of their last 19 top-flight home games against St Mirren (D2 L2), winning this exact fixture last season 2-0.

• After their 2-1 win in September, St Mirren could earn consecutive top-flight victories over Hearts for the first time since September 1988.

• Hearts have just two points from eight league games this season (W0 D2 L6), the joint-fewest by any side in their opening eight matches of a Scottish Premiership campaign since the re-brand in 2013 (also Dundee United in 2022-23).

• St Mirren have won just one of their last 10 away league games (D3 L6), a 3-1 victory at Dundee in May.

• Last season’s Scottish Premiership top scorer Lawrence Shankland has had more shots than any player in this season’s competition (31), but has found the net just once (3.2% conversion rate).

Image source, SNS

Lennon Miller's second goal for Motherwell against St Mirren in September stood after being reviewed for a possible handball, and Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum said the VAR officials were "unable to find the evidence to be categorical" about a foul.

Later in the same game, Well's Dan Casey handled the ball on the goal-line to deny Killian Phillips a goal and was shown a straight red.

Mark O'Hara had the resulting penalty saved in the 2-1 defeat.

"In our opinion, this is the correct call," said Collum. "It's a very good piece of teamwork between the assistant referee and the referee.

"There's nothing there for the VAR to think that the referee has made an error there in terms of showing a red card."

With domestic football making its return this weekend, we want to know what you're looking for from your side.

It hasn't been a straightforward start to the season for Stephen Robinson's men, who sit mid-table despite picking up just eight points from eight games.

So what do you feel needs to be improved between now and November's international break?

Give us your thoughts here, external.

Jamie Cockburn
Fan writer

Ah, the international break. A time of reflection and not the time for distraction we would have hoped for (thanks Scotland).

I said at the start of the season, that this would be a difficult season for Robinson and his men. Victims of their own success, taking the Buddies to the dizzying heights of European football, it is a near impossible task the Northern Irishman has given himself.

After our opening game against Hibs, I thought to myself, piece of p… cake, no problem, Europe again here we come. How was I supposed to know Hibs would be incompetent as ever?

Injuries have seriously gotten in the way. Pre-season injuries to Greg Kiltie and Conor McMenamin have restricted the Buddies flow, forcing Robinson to move away from his desired shape, leaving fans frustrated at its outcome.

It's understandable frustration, when looking at the last few teams we have dropped points to. Have they been any better than us? Absolutely not.

But this is why we shouldn’t be frustrated. This is why we should be excited.

We are currently sitting sixth in the table. Toyosi Olusanya is currently joint second in the league's scoring charts, with the team scoring 1.4 goals per game, better than last season (one of our best seasons in more than 30 years), without two of our main creative threats on the pitch.

With Greg Kiltie making cameo appearances off the bench in the last two matches, and McMenamin closely returning to full training, it is safe to say the best is yet to come. That’s without even adding Kevin Van Veen getting up to scratch after a year of very little football.

Now the defence. Well, that’s for another blog.

Jamie Cockburn can be found at the Misery Hunters podcast, external

BBC Sport Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions.

Huey asked: Hi Tom, Saints can't defend a lead and consolidate when we go ahead - we're as likely to draw or lose when we score first - or get back into a game if we go behind.

I don't believe it's a tactical deficit, but as a collective we clearly lack the sharpness and hunger shown by our competitors for a top-six place. Was our European adventure our undoing?

Tom answered: Hi Huey. Nothing is undone. Yes, Europe made life harder (and for a while, a whole lot better) and you've won only once in the seven games since exiting Europe, but among that lot there were also two draws, there were two 1-0 losses and a 2-1 when you had Scott Tanser wrongly sent off.

It's not great, but you've still got a decent shot at a top-six spot, I think. Other teams around you are struggling as well. This is a battle.

If you assume Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen are the top three and Hearts fight back to get a top six, the other two spots are wide open. I think Motherwell will make it. That leaves one. I wouldn't bet against it being St Mirren.

You are losing leads a fair bit and Stephen Robinson will be frustrated by that. I don't think St Mirren lack hunger at all. Some composure, yes. Some concentration at key times, probably. Convert your penalties, hope referees don't make awful decisions against you, like the Tanser one, and you'll be close.

There's also been a bit of off-field drama involving your star recruit. The club could have done without that as well.

BBC Sport Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions.

Ewan asked: It's again clear St Mirren's struggles will involve scoring goals. Stephen Thompson was our last prolific scorer. Why do you think time and time again Saints are struggling to find that goalscorer?

Tom answered: I'm surprised by this one. St Mirren are actually doing fine for goals when compared to pretty much everybody else in the league.

You've almost scored twice as many as Hearts and from the same number of games. You've got 11 in seven matches. It's not bad. Toyosi Olusanya has scored more than Kyogo Furuhashi, Adam Idah and every player at Rangers.

Last season you averaged 1.2 goals per league game. This season you're on 1.4.

You might not have a prolific goalscorer but they're extremely hard to come by. I think you have enough guys who can score. It's keeping them out that might be the bigger problem.

What would you like to ask Tom English about St Mirren?

Our chief sportswriter is in the hotseat ready to answer your questions and offer his insight and opinion on your club.

Who has been the top performer so far? Is the manager living up to expectations?

Put your questions to Tom here, external.

Andrew Christie
Fan writer

Saturday evening, 5.30pm. I'm sat on a train on the way back from the football and my head is on Mars.

I'm writing this on my phone so the group of Dundee United fans at the table across from me can't see how obviously Rattled with a capital R I am by what I've just witnessed.

Don't look up, keep scrolling. Can't let them see how hot your face is. Keep scrolling. Eyes on the safety of your phone screen. All the apps. Twitter. No, not there. Not now. Just Eat. What will we get for dinner tonight? Chinese? That new place near us is supposed to be quite good, isn't it? Just what the doctor ordered. A takeaway and hide the phone in a drawer kind of night. Special fried rice and a side of being tactically outclassed by Jim Goodwin.

Might as well face it. Our former gaffer came to town and did an absolute job on us.

United's 1-0 victory was won through organisation, discipline and doggedness. The type of football Goodwin made his trademark while in the dugout in Paisley. It's not pretty but it's effective.

You can see the characteristics of Goodwin's United coming to the fore week after week, a team with a real identity. St Mirren, on the other hand, cut the figure of a team at odds with who we are supposed to be.

What are some identifiers of a St Mirren side in recent years, would you say? I'd ask around on this train but I don't think many of us have our analytical heads on us.

Hard to break down? Organised? Disciplined? Not recently.

Victory over Hearts two weeks ago should have been a turning point for our early season, but instead we see a team lacking identity.

There is of course context I will no doubt apply when my head returns from orbit. Few in the league would remain unshaken by our European demands or injury record. Even then, we still find ourselves sitting in sixth place in the league.

For the second week in a row though, we've come up short against a side we will likely be competing with for a top-six place, and we look softer than we ever have under Stephen Robinson, conceding cheap goal after cheap goal.

Expectations are understandably high after Robinson's first two seasons, and it was always going to be hard to maintain such high standards. Seeing Saints this beatable though is so frustrating to watch.

We now have the international break to go away and figure out what kind of team we want to be.

Right, that's my train at the station. The United boys across from me found out about their dark blue rivals' capitulation to Kilmarnock around 150 words ago so I was able to rant here unbothered.

That's good I suppose. I don't like being bothered.

I wish football didn't bother me so much.

Andrew Christie can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Sportscene pundits Michael Stewart and Shelley Kerr assess St Mirren's goal-scoring options after their 1-0 defeat against Dundee United.

Watch highlights as Dundee United win 1-0 against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

Image source, SNS

Stephen Robinson refused to single out Ellery Balcombe for the goalkeeper's part in Dundee United's goal on Saturday.

The Buddies shotstopper parried Ross Docherty’s shot straight into the path of Emmanuel Adegboyega to head home in front of the travelling United fans on 75 minutes.

"I’m no expert on goalkeeping and I'm not going to single anyone out," Robinson admitted.

"Ellery might be disappointed he didn't push it away but we need to cover for someone if they make a mistake.

"We didn’t react. It’s never anyone's fault. There were numerous chances to make it comfortable and we didn’t take them. It's a collective and the buck stops with me.

"We're just in a moment where things aren’t going our way. We aren't playing as bad as the results seem but ultimately we're not putting the ball in the back of the net. I can't remember Ellery having too many saves to make."

We asked for your views on St Mirren's 1-0 defeat against Dundee United.

Here's what some of you said:

Craig: Had control of the game for the most part, desperately needing width in the team. United didn't offer much of a threat but took their chance and came away with three points, good to see Greg Kiltie back though.

Huey: It's groundhog day again at St Mirren. Missed chances, Ellery Balcombe a bomb scare at crosses, Kevin van Veen a shadow of his former self, too many players a yard off and we can't get back into a game after going behind. Based on what I've seen so far this season, top six is beyond us. Our opponents all look sharper and hungrier.

William: Paisley fans turned up in numbers optimistic that this would have been the game that changed our season, only to be disappointed once again. Great effort throughout, but we can't put the ball in the net despite the numerous chances. I'm sure we can all understand the manager's frustrations. Maybe we can do better in the Hearts game.

Anthony: Absolutely shocking, this messing around at the back is killing us. If Stephen Robinson doesn't change his tactics we will be bottom three without a doubt.

Alistair: That was a poor day at the office in a game that would get football banned. We tried a different formation due to absence but nothing went right, hopefully in the break we reset.

John: Robinson got that wrong on every level. Poor team selection and wrong choices at the wrong time when it came to the substitutions.

Image source, SNS

• St Mirren have failed to win any of their last six matches when conceding first in the Scottish Premiership, since a victory over Aberdeen on 2 March 2024.

• St Mirren attempted 16 shots in this game, their highest total in a league match this season.

• Dundee United have kept a clean sheet in three of their seven games, only Rangers (four) and Celtic (six) have done this more often in the league this season.

• Dundee United have avoided defeat in their last eight matches when scoring first in the Premiership, since a 1-3 loss to Hearts on 4 February 2023.

Dundee United extended their unbeaten away run in the Scottish Premiership to four matches with a hard-fought win over St Mirren.

Emmanuel Adegboyega nodded in the winner in the final quarter after St Mirren goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe parried Ross Docherty's thumping shot.

It was an apt winner in a game defined by industry in midfield and set-pieces rather than flowing football and lots of attempts on target.

What did you make of St Mirren's performance? Have your say here, external.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "Very disappointed with the result. We're in a moment where things aren't going right for us.

"There are plenty of good things. I don't know how many chances we need to score a goal. The amount of crosses we put in and half chances we had, but the disappointing thing is we haven't hit the target often enough - which we work on tirelessly.

"The final product is missing. We have been scoring goals up to now, we've created and missed a lot of chances.

"And we've conceded from their only real chance of the game. We don't deal with the second phase well enough.

"It's a moment. I've been here plenty times at St Mirren and other clubs and it's about getting people together, putting the best team out available to me and working on it over the break."

Image source, SNS

Thomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland

Victory against struggling Hearts a fortnight ago could have been a turning point for struggling St Mirren, but it remains their only victory in 10 games.

Stephen Robinson switched from his usual three centre-back formation to a flat four, bringing in winger Roland Idowu and striker Kevin van Veen.

But neither seriously impacted the game, apart from Idowu's first-half effort which he dragged just wide.

Toyosi Olusanya and Killian Phillips looked the most likely to score for the home side, but the pair only managed to hit the target twice with their combined nine attempts at goal.

Van Veen, meanwhile, looks a shadow of the player who hit 29 goals in the 2022-23 season for Motherwell and it's now 16 Premiership appearances for Kilmarnock and St Mirren without scoring.

The most St Mirren worked United goalkeeper Jack Walton was Caolan Boyd-Munce's fierce shot from distance.

Three attempts on target from 16 shots and an expected goals rating 0.97 shows how much they toiled to create clear chances.

Stephen Robinbson makes three changes from last week's defeat by Motherwell and there could be a change of shape with both wing-backs dropping out.

Roland Idowu and Charles Dunne coming in for Elvis Bwomono and Scott Tanser could mean a switch to a back four, or a change of position for centre-backs Marcus Fraser or Richard Taylor. We shall see.

Up top, Kevin van Veen makes his first start for St Mirren in place of Mikael Mandron.

• Follow the action live

Image source, BBC Sport

In: Dennis Adenirany, midfielder (Hapoel Petah Tikva); Alex Iacovitti, defender (Port Vale, undisclosed); Shaun Rooney, defender (Fleetwood Town); Oisin Smyth, midfielder (Oxford United); Jaden Brown, defender (Lincoln City, loan to permanent); James Scott, forward (Exeter City, loan to permanent).

Loan in: Killian Phillips, midfielder (Crystal Palace); Kevin van Veen, forward (Groningen); Ellery Balcombe, goalkeeper (Barnsley); Roland Idowu, midfielder (Shrewsbury Town).

Out: Ethan Sutherland, forward (Wolverhampton Wanderers, undisclosed); Ryan Strain, defender (Dundee United); Keanu Baccus, midfielder (Mansfield Town); James Bolton, defender (Fleetwood Town, undisclosed); Alex Greive, forward (Bohemian); Ryan Flynn, midfielder (Arbroath).

Loan ended: Hyeokkyu Kwon, midfielder (Celtic); Zach Hemming, goalkeeper (Middlesbrough).

Loan out: Kieran Offord, forward (Crusaders); Lewis Jamieson, forward (Raith Rovers); Gallagher Lennon, midfielder (Annan Athletic); Fraser Taylor, midfielder (Arbroath).

Read the Scottish Premiership ins & outs in full here.