St Mirren

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

When club football shudders to a halt for a full 21 days, what else is there to do but try to figure out where everyone is?

Continuing the trend seen over the past few years, the international break represents less and less of a holiday for those on the playing staff at the Marbill Coaches Stadium.

Some are on senior international duty, several are earning age-group honours while much of the remaining cohort are out on loan. Here, for one week only, is my best effort at summarising all of that within the polite boundaries of a single column.

Jacob Chapman, cementing a highly-promising beginning to his Saints career, has found himself in Brisbane and holding a chance of a debut from the bench against Brazil that means missing his brother's wedding and girlfriend's birthday.

Nottingham-born Jayden Richardson has earned international recognition for the first time, joining the St Kitts and Nevis set-up as The Sugar Boyz faced Bonaire and Grenada before their Cuba double-header.

Richard King continues to race towards 50 Jamaica caps, joined for the first time in the national squad by former team-mate Miguel Freckleton.

Killian Phillips, initially left in Paisley, was escalated back into the senior set-up following call-offs and made his fifth Republic of Ireland appearance as a second-half substitute in the Nations League win over Israel in Debrecen.

At Under-21 level, a hat-trick of Saints joined up with Tony Docherty's first Scotland squad selection. Ryan Carr, quickly established as the general in Craig McLeish's new-look midfield, looks to add to his tally while defenders Henry Fieldson and Louis Jackson are seeking debuts at this level.

Josh Farquhar, fresh from making his senior debut for the club against Dundee United, represented Scotland's U19s while new club record holder for youngest player, Marcello de Barros, scored for Scotland's U17s alongside clubmate Ruari Duff.

A firm focus on getting young players senior minutes has meant most remaining youngsters on the club's books have continued playing for their loan clubs during the break.

And, if all of that wasn't enough for you, the vast majority of these youngsters returned to black and white for the KDM Evolution Trophy where the Saints are the highest ranked B side in the competition.

See, there's loads to be getting on with.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

To paraphrase a fake Marilyn Monroe quote that spawned a thousand profile pictures, "If you can't handle Craig McLeish at his changing the starting line-up and losing 3-0 to Jim Goodwin, then you don't deserve him at his two league wins in August and manager of the month".

Saturday's defeat to Dundee United, by whichever metric you settle on, was a disappointment.

United have not been without their own wrinkles to iron out this early season and will most likely populate the same blob of teams in the division as the Saints come mid 2027.

They have coped admirably with the absence of Goodwin (who it was great to see back in Paisley and back in the dugout), recovering from poor initial form to climb back into mid-table. This, then, represented an opportunity for points that may be tougher to find in Glasgow, Edinburgh or elsewhere.

The returning Killian Phillips, eligible-again Paul Nsio and unfortunately injured Nikolas Agrafiotis necessitated some changes, though consensus in the terraces quickly became clear that perhaps too much had been tinkered.

Eseosa Sule toiled leading the line, Nsio lost some of his impact in his wide role and Chris Mochrie was glaring in his absence.

Not for the first time since leaving Paisley for Tannadice (well, Pittodrie, but there wasn't much to worry about there), Goodwin gave the impression of a man that had the Saints figured out.

A couple of early goals set the tone, a couple of marginal decisions fell United's way and a third goal before half-time killed the spectacle. There was to be no Motherwell-esque comeback as in late August.

To paint Saturday as anything other than disappointing would be foolish. To neuter the ability to bemoan that disappointment by repeatedly pointing out it's early days and there is a learning curve for both this young squad and their young manager, likewise.

We should be gutted at conceding three at home, at not scoring ourselves and at handing out chances like funsize own-brand chocolate bars on Halloween.

We just owe it to those in the dugout and on the pitch to acknowledge they are gutted too, to back them in picking up what lessons are there for learning and to put that to good use in the long term.

We're not suddenly awful. We weren't suddenly incredible. October brings five challenging fixtures this side should have no fear in tackling head-on.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Image source, Getty Images

St. Mirren midfielder Killian Phillips has been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for their upcoming Nations League quadruple-header.

The 24-year-old joined Heimir Hallgrimsson's squad in Dublin before the side travelled to Pristina for Thursday's match against Kosovo.

He has replaced Hibernian's Jamie McGrath and Harvey Vale from Queens Park Rangers, who have both been ruled out through injury.

The midfield duo will now join captain Nathan Collins on the sidelines for the four-match international window.

Phillips joined St Mirren from Crystal Palace after a successful loan spell and has four caps for the Republic of Ireland.

After their away match against Kosovo, Hallgrimsson's side face Israel twice and Austria at home in Group B3.

Sheffield United loanee Liam Kitching has been handed his first call-up in the initial squad, while uncapped Cardiff City defender Joel Bagan and Owen Elding of Hibernian are in contention for their first caps.

Sportscene pundit James McFadden reviews St Mirren's 3-0 defeat by Dundee United.

After going unbeaten in their first four league matches of the season, the Buddies have lost three in a row.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren were forced into a late change to their line-up yesterday when striker Nikolas Agrafiotis was ruled out with an unspecified injury, but manager Craig McLeish hoped it would not be a long-term issue.

He said: "He felt something and we went and got it scanned (on Friday night) to try and put his mind at ease a little bit more.

"And it showed up a little bit worse than we'd expected so he had to then miss out. Hopefully he should just be back in contention for the Hearts game after the international break.

"We had planned all week with him starting the game but other boys when they get opportunities they have to come in and step up. So, Niko was a bit of a loss but it still doesn't excuse what happened throughout the game."

Manager McLeish admitted his team had been poor all across the pitch as they lost for a third league game in a row.

He said: "It's a tough one to take because we've been so good up to this point. We let ourselves down today probably all across the pitch.

"I've said that to the boys, in this league it's ruthless and you have to be at your best every single week. We had too many nowhere near the levels that they have set.

"It's two home games where we've given teams two goals of a head start within the first 10 minutes and you're not going to survive doing that. We did well to come back in the Motherwell game but you just can't give yourself that mountain to climb every week."

Dundee United score three first-half goals to secure a Scottish Premiership win in Paisley (UK only).

St Mirren fans, we asked for your opinions on the shock 3-0 loss to Dundee United in Paisley. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

William: I was thinking maybe, just maybe, the club had got the right manager, but after that totally shambolic performance, I think it's the wrong choice. Too many players were poor and the changes made no difference, the manager just looked clueless.

Russell: The fragility in the team shone through. As exciting as some of the play is we do always look a little nervous, hopefully just a blip but I feel we need a bit of solidity.

Panther: An awful show. Looks like the set-up was centered on fitting Killian Phillips back into the starting set-up which backfired. We looked to be without shape, couldn't get the basics right and Jacob Chapman again had a sub-par game. We must improve!

James: Saints were well beaten by a better team. Defensively we were too easy to play through - we could have lost by more. We need to link possession to creating real chances and we didn't do that today, Dundee United did!

Stu: Our central defenders seem to be so far from each other that you could drive a bus sideways through them. Goalkeeper's distribution was poor. There seems to be a huge gap in front of our central defence that is getting exploited regularly, as it did against Motherwell.

It just all looked ponderous, like they've been given a plan that they won't stray from, but sometimes you need to put your big boy pants on and think for yourself and take opportunities that present themselves.

I'm still not convinced despite having more points on the board than I thought we would.

John: Hopeless. Can't remember the last time an entire starting 11 for the Buddies was so inept. Further compounded by Craig McLeish taking our only effective midfielder, Fraser Taylor, off at half-time and bringing on a striker whose confidence is so low that he could be on the pitch on his own and still wouldn't score.

Defensively all over the place and just can't understand why McLeish persists with a back line that leaves Alex Gogic so exposed. He's been a stalwart for the club but his legs have gone. He's needs runners around him to allow time to read the game better. Eseosa Sule shows nothing up front. Paul Nsio flatters to deceive in the middle and we lack guile in key parts of the pitch. Can't help feeling that the McLeish bubble has burst.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren manager Craig McLeish: "It's the first time we have probably let ourselves down this season in terms of a disappointing result but its probably the performance as well.

"The boys have been magnificent up until this point. The damage was done in the first ten minutes of the game, a couple of defensive mistakes. You can't give teams two goals of a lead. That's twice we have now done it at home, we did it against Motherwell as well. You can't give yourself that mountain to climb every week.

"We start the game brightly but you can't lose the bit that got us to this bit, where we're gritty and we're determined and we defend well.

"A couple of lapses at the back and they capitalise on them. That just makes it difficult to get back into it, we're looking for a spark in different ways. We change shape and change personnel.

"I've said to the boys that there were always going to be bumps along the way but we have to make sure that we dust ourselves down and stick together.

"We got into some dangerous areas and were lacking the final bit today. I'd always back the group to create chances and score goals.

"We know we have to be at our absolute best every week to pick up points in this league. Sometimes you can have two or three having an off day but we had the majority of the group not being at the levels they have set.

"I can't fault the group up until this point they've been magnificent. I know it's a tough run in terms of results. Going into the international break we're still sitting in a healthy position. We know it will be tough at times and when the tough moments come we have to stick together."

Dundee United emphatically dispatched St Mirren to earn just their second Premiership win of the season on manager Jim Goodwin's return following a health issue.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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St Mirren welcome back influential midfielder Killian Phillips after injury, but Samuel Ramos (hamstring), Liam Donnelly (abductor), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring), Keanu Baccus (Achilles) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain sidelined.

Suspended Dundee United midfielder Emmanuel Agyei will be missing for several weeks with a knee ligament injury, while winger Mehdi Merghem (knee) is also absent.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Jacob Chapman thought the phone call tipping him off on a first call-up for Australia was just a compatriot at St Mirren looking for a lift to training.

Instead the 25-year-old goalkeeper could be making his international debut against Brazil.

"My girlfriend rang me up and was like, 'Keanu Bacuus has been ringing you,'", he explained. "I'd just woken up. I was like, 'Why is he ringing me so early? He probably needs a lift to training or something'.

"Then he told me, 'I've just given your number to someone on the staff'. I tried not to get too excited straight away. Then I got a text asking if I was free for a quick chat.

"The staff member said, 'Look, I just want to congratulate you. You've been selected in this upcoming camp'. They told me they'd been looking at me for a while now. It was a very nice call and I'm just really looking forward to it now. I cant wait."

Playing for his country would be the fulfillment of a 20-year long ambition since he turned out as a mascot for the national side.

"I walked out with Travis Dodd," recalled. "We won. I can't remember who it was against, I was so young. My mum actually just sent me the video of it today."

Dodd would certainly have a good memory of the match since he became the first indigenous Australian to score for the Socceroos in a win over Kuwait in Sydney.

"My mum's always reminded me of conversations we had when I was really young about how much I wanted to play, and it's never changed," added Chapman.

Two penalty saves in the Premiership have caught the eye, along with his comfort with the ball at his feet.

"I feel like every goalkeeper you meet says 'I was a striker and now I'm a keeper'," laughed Chapman. "I loved it when I was, and it definitely helps now with how the gaffer (Craig McLeish) likes to play."

"I've faced probably more penalties than I should have, but I don't mind. Obviously, the last two have gone our way. A couple of clean sheets just reflects the whole team."

After Saturday's home game against Dundee United, it's off to join the Australia squad for two friendlies against five-time world champions Brazil in Townsville and Brisbane.

"It's crazy, just looking at their team, they've got some of the best players in the world," said Chapman. "It's a huge occasion.

"It would be everything I've ever worked towards. I'm just excited to get there, put my head down and work really hard."

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Craig McLeish has been speaking to the media before St Mirren host Dundee United in the Premiership on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Here are the key line from the Buddies boss:

• McLeish is delighted Jacob Chapman has earned a first Australia call-up for matches against Brazil - and revealed goalkeeping coach Jamie Langfield had vowed to get the 25-year-old in the Socceroos squad.

• "It was part of the conversation we had with him during the summer," says McLeish. "Myself and Jamie Langfield sat with him and we were both kind of trying to sell different parts of the club to him. Jamie told him, 'I will get you in the Australia squad.' Jamie's got a really good track record of developing goalkeepers and things as well. We knew Jacob coming here from the lower leagues in England, he would get more eyes on him."

• Chapman has saved two spot-kicks in the Premiership this season and McLeish adds: "Yeah, Alex Gogic was saying 'you're welcome' to him for giving away four penalties!"

• The Saints boss adds: "Even how he's been with the ball at his feet, he saves against Rangers at Ibrox and things, the penalty saves, it all adds up. That's great for him, we're delighted for him and he just needs to keep pushing on from here now.

• The club have three players - Henry Fieldson, Ryan Carr and Louis Jackson - in the Scotland Under-21 squad and McLeish says on giving young players a chance: "It's probably just a bias of mine because of my pathway and my journey. My whole background has been youth development. I've probably sat and moaned for years about boys not getting the opportunities that I thought they should. So I can't now sit in this chair and then be the one denying them opportunities. But the biggest bit is you can't do it just as a token gesture or just for the sake of it. They have to be ready."

• McLeish believes midfielder Carr could go on to be a full international: "He's only got two games left, I think, of eligibility for the 21s, and then we're saying your next bit is how far can you go and push it towards the full national squad."

• The manager is "proud" the young players at St Mirren after taking their first-team opportunities, adding: "We have to make sure we find the balance with the experienced players as well, but when you've got Goga at the heart of your defence to help them and see them through at times too, it helps we get a really good core of experienced players."

• McLeish expects a "really tough game" against United, who he believes have been "a little hard done by" in performances not reflecting results.

• On Jim Goodwin being back in the dugout - and back in Paisley - after a three-week medical absence, McLeish says: "I'm delighted to see that he's doing well. I think he always gets a good reception when he comes back here. He was such a big player for St Mirren and had a really strong spell as manager as well. So I hope he gets a really good reception."

• St Mirren have only won three of their past 23 top-flight home matches against Dundee United (D10 L10), although two of those have come in their latest five (D1 L2).

• Since Dundee United's promotion back to the Premiership in 2024, their five league wins against St Mirren is their most versus any opponent.

• Only Aberdeen (15) have more top-flight defeats in 2026 than St Mirren (14), who have lost their past two in the competition.

• Dundee United have won just one of their past 10 league games (D4 L5), beating Kilmarnock 4-0 in August.

• Jim Goodwin has taken charge of 94 Premiership games as Dundee United manager, now his most with any side in the competition, ahead of St Mirren (93). Goodwin has a 1.75 points-per-game average against his former side St Mirren in the league (P12 W6 D3 L3), his joint highest as a manager against any opponent (also 1.75 v St Johnstone).

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

"Hi ChatGPT, can you take last week's 'we lost but didn't we do well against the Old Firm' column and freshen it up a little, add in a couple of references to Jacob Chapman having the game of his life and be a bit snide about Derek McInnes' joking post-match regarding his son being pals with Fraser Taylor? Other than that, a basic copy and paste should be fine. Cheers."

With no weekend football to occupy the minds of Buddies, it has been harder than usual to shake off the what-could-have-been from Ibrox last Wednesday.

Though Chapman's net-minding heroics defied a spate of Rangers attacks in the first half, Craig McLeish's side played their way into dictating much of the game after half-time.

Fraser Taylor, boyhood Buddie and academy late bloomer, had yet another showing of movement and passing excellence that will have tactics bloggers purring.

Having opened his Saints account at Rugby Park, the mortgage could justifiably have been wagered on him putting away his one-on-one with Ivor Pandur.

Time stood still as Taylor found himself with the freedom of Ibrox, set loose by some intricate passing at halfway, but the Croat held his nerve and a visibly furious Taylor bemoaned his own indecision.

The Saints had other chances, Declan John's fizzed ball across the goalmouth being similarly galling, but lacked the killer instinct needed to take points from Glasgow.

Then, to compound that frustration, a 90th-minute long ball was the undoing of an adjusted defensive line that had, until then, done themselves proud. Miovski held his water where Taylor hadn't and McInnes, as always, took the points from our grasp.

To lose from that position is disappointing, it needs to be, so any attempt to talk up the positives or stick to longer-term thinking is its own thing.

We need to be gutted when we play well and get nothing for it, gutted when we don't score having had chances, and gutted when a late lapse gives away a goal we should do better with.

This can all be true, without resorting to the kind of furious overreaction social media has instilled in us all.

Our manager, doubted in the court of public opinion, was Premiership manager of the month. Our new squad of young talents are performing well. Our existing talents like Taylor and Phillips are finding new levels.

There is the undeniable air we are still at the beginning of something, and watching that reveal itself week on week has been exciting. Long may it continue.

Mark Jardine can be found at Misery Hunters, external

We asked for your views after St Mirren succumbed to an injury-time 1-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox.

Here's what some of you said:

Pauline: We played well, especially in the second half. Proud of every one of the players. Had Fraser Taylor's effort gone in it would have been a very different game. These games won't define our season. On to Dundee United.

Eddie: Once again a good show against an Old Firm side. First half our goalie kept us in the game. Second half we should have had at least one goal. As much as we played well we still ended up being beaten by a last-minute winner. Onwards and upwards as we won't judge our season on results against Rangers and Celtic.

Peter: We should have gone in front but nothing is ever easy in this league. The team gave their all and I'm proud of them.

John: Keeper did his bit to keep us in it first half. Another excellent performance second half where we could/should have scored a couple and Rangers could/should have been down to 10 men. We also could/should have had a penalty early on. Shows how far we have come when we are gutted at not getting a result. Enjoying the journey under Craig McLeish.

Watch the best of the action from Rangers' 1-0 win over St Mirren as Bijon Miovski nets the decisive strike in added time. (Available to UK users only)

St Mirren slipped to third in the Scottish Premiership behind hosts Rangers thanks to Bojan Miovski's stoppage-time winner at Ibrox.

Manager Craig McLeish was left "proud" of his side's performance, but what do the fans think?

Give us your thoughts.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren manager Craig McLeish tells BBC Scotland he is "so proud of the group" despite their 1-0 defeat by Rangers.

"Proud of their performance and how brave we were," he said.

"We had to weather some storms in the first half and Chappie's [Jacob Chapman] had to make some great saves, but we have to defend like that if we want to achieve anything.

"I was probably more disappointed after the cup game as we didn't show the best version of ourselves, but we were excellent in the second half.

"The boys have set standards and keep raising the bar.

"There's disappointment because you come so close to getting a point, but our season can't be defined by picking up a point at Ibrox.

"We have to pick up points elsewhere. If we continue to play with that bravery, I am sure we will do that."

As for Fraser Taylor's second-half miss that could have given St Mirren the lead before Bojan Miovski scored Rangers' stoppage-time winner, McLeish added: "He was magnificent tonight. He said that'll keep him up for a few nights that he's missed it.

"But he gets there, he puts himself in that position, a fantastic run through. He was brilliant all night and he's been great since he's come into the team.

"Those bits happen. It will be someone else next week."

• Rangers boss Derek McInnes has never lost as a manager at home to St Mirren in the top flight, winning 10 and drawing seven of 17 such games across spells with St Johnstone, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hearts.

• St Mirren have won three consecutive away games in the Scottish Premiership, the first time they have done so in the top flight since May 2007 (also three in a row).

• Rangers have won 25 of their past 28 home games against St Mirren in all competitions (D2 L1), including 16 of their latest 17 (L1 – 2-0 in February 2025).

• St Mirren have lost three successive meetings with Rangers in all competitions, including a 5-1 League Cup defeat this season, after having been unbeaten in four against the Ibrox side beforehand (W2 D2).

• Rangers have only lost one of their past 13 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W9 D3), although that was their last at home, a 2-1 defeat to Hibernian in May.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

On Saturday, before his team's top-of-the-table clash with Celtic, I asked St Mirren manager Craig McLeish how easy it has been to implement the style of football that is enthralling the Paisley club's supporters amid their then unbeaten start to the league season.

"It's been quite straightforward," was the reply.

The man who led the Saints youth team under Aberdeen boss Stephen Robinson has produced a side that plays an exciting, fast-paced brand of football with a clear identity already. Eight new signings started the narrow defeat to the champions as well as Fraser Taylor, who was on loan at Partick Thistle last season.

Contrast that with Robinson's fortunes so far in the north east and Aberdeen's turgid goalless draw at home to Kilmarnock. It is stark.

Aberdeen were often slow and ponderous and were fortunate to take a point, with goalkeeper Marius Muller pulling off several excellent saves to keep Killie out.

The reaction from the Dons support at half-time and full-time was there for all to hear and wasn't lost on Robinson, who must look at their three pre-international window fixtures with trepidation.

They have a rematch in Ayrshire in the League Cup quarter-finals on Saturday evening, a game that was always going to be one of the most important in Aberdeen's season but now carries extra significance and pressure.

The Dons now face three away games against top-flight opponents with trips to Motherwell and Hibernian, following the cup tie, in the Premiership.

They haven't beaten a top-flight club away from home since 6 December last year and have only scored six goals in that abysmal run.

When Robinson was appointed during a sequence of one win in 13 at St Mirren, chairman Dave Cormack said: "There is a strong desire to re-establish a clear identity for our club, to become harder to play against and restore competitiveness in our matches."

The Northern Irishman's former youth coach has proven that is possible.

Image source, SNS

Rangers striker Lawrence Shankland faces up to four months out with a hamstring tear. He joins Youssef Chermiti (knee) and Tuur Rommens (groin) on the sidelines.

Daisuke Yokota will have a scan on a groin problem and is expected to miss out, Kosta Nedeljkovic has a foot issue and will be assessed, while Badredine Bouanani could make his debut.

St Mirren midfielder Samuel Ramos is a doubt with a hamstring problem. Killian Phillips (shin), Liam Donnelly (abductor), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring), Keanu Baccus (Achilles) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain out.