St Mirren

Image source, SNS

• Although Rangers have only won one of their past five league matches against St Mirren (D2 L2), that was their most recent in December (2-1).

• Rangers are unbeaten in 12 league games (W8 D4), their longest run since going 17 without defeat from November 2022 to April 2023.

• St Mirren - who have an interim coaching team in place following Stephen Robinson's move to Aberdeen - have only won one of their past 13 league games (D4 L8), a 1-0 home win over leaders Hearts in February.

• Youssef Chermiti has scored five of Rangers' past seven league goals. His five goals in his last three league games are more than he scored in his first 18 Scottish Premiership appearances beforehand (four).

• St Mirren are unbeaten in three home league games against Rangers (W1 D2), last going four without defeat against them in April 1984.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren have confirmed Craig McLeish, Jamie Langfield and Allan McManus will lead the team on an interim basis following manager Stephen Robinson's departure to Aberdeen.

The club added: "Craig has been part of the first-team set-up in recent months following his involvement at senior level with the St Mirren youth academy for a number of years.

"He will work alongside Jamie and Allan who took interim charge of Saints prior to Stephen Robinson's appointment in 2022."

Image source, SNS

Stephen Robinson says there was "no way" he could turn down the Aberdeen job and vowed to bring "identity and direction" to the club.

The 51-year-old Northern Irishman has ended his four-year St Mirren reign to become the Dons' new boss on a deal until summer 2029.

Robinson, who takes assistant Brian Kerr with him to Pittodrie, told the Pittodrie club's website: "When this opportunity arose, there was no way I could turn it down.

"Aberdeen has a tremendous history and there's no mistaking it is a huge club.

"The facilities and resources that will be at my disposal are excellent and more importantly, the fanbase is tremendous so I'm excited to work for a club of this size and strive to take it forward.

"I appreciate it has been a tough period for everyone, but players respond to positivity so we've got to stick together going forward.

"We will put a team out on the pitch to get the points we need to finish this season as strongly as we can.

"Aberdeen have clear ambition but it needs an identity, it needs direction and I aim to give the club that so we need everyone to get behind myself, the staff and the players."

Stephen Robinson has left St Mirren to become Aberdeen's new manager.

The 51-year-old departs Paisley after almost four years having led the club to three consecutive top-six finishes, plus this season's memorable League Cup triumph.

Buddies fans, we want to know what you make of Robinson's departure. How do you feel about your chances of survival without him? Who would you like to see replace the Northern Irishman?

Have your say on Robinson's exit here.

Image source, SNS

With Stephen Robinson in talks over becoming Aberdeen's new manager, we've taken a look back at his near four-year spell at St Mirren.

Top-six finishes & European football

Last season, Robinson secured a third consecutive top-six finish - the first time in four decades St Mirren had achieved such a feat (they had a run of four from 1981-85).

As a result of coming fifth in the 2023-24 campaign, the Paisley men ended a 37-year wait for European football. They thumped Icelandic side Valur 4-1 last term before bowing out in the third round of Conference League qualifying when two late goals in Norway consigned the Buddies to a 4-2 aggregate defeat to SK Brann.

Historic cup win

Robinson will be remembered best, and most fondly, by St Mirren fans for this season's League Cup triumph.

The Paisley men dispatched Premiership leaders Hearts as well as Kilmarnock on penalties before thrashing high-flying Motherwell 4-1 at Hampden to set up a massive clash with Celtic.

What unfolded at the national stadium was a day no Buddies fan will ever forget. Marcus Fraser's early opener, cancelled out by Reo Hatate's leveller, was followed by a second-half Jonah Ayunga double as St Mirren won their first trophy in 12 years amid euphoric celebrations that lasted for days.

Relegation battle

This season, things haven't been so straightforward. Robinson's side have won only five of 29 league outings, a win rate of just over 17% and a points per game of 0.8.

They've scored just 23 goals and conceded almost double that number - 45.

Those results have left St Mirren 10th in the table, three points above Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot and 10 clear of Livingston.

Yet, despite their league struggles, the Buddies are still on still for a remarkable trophy double as they face Celtic in next month's Scottish Cup semi-final.

Robinson's overall record

The 51-year-old Northern Irishman has managed 155 league games for St Mirren since taking charge in 2022. He has won 47, drawn 37 and lost 71, giving him a win rate of 30.3% and points per game average of 1.1. His side have scored 172 goals and conceded 233.

His St Mirren win rate is better than his 22% at Morecambe (where he managed for just eight months) but not as good as his 36.5% from 137 league games with Motherwell.

We asked for your views on the prospective exit of Stephen Robinson after the St Mirren boss was granted permission to speak to Aberdeen.

Here are some of your comments:

Fraser: Absolutely gutted! Best manager we've ever had, despite this season's challenging league form. Please stay, Robbo, keep us up and deliver a cup double/Europe again!

Eddie: It's no surprise. Robinson has been looking for a way out as he must feel this is a good time for him to cash in. So much for his loyalty to the club, money talks.

John: Extraordinary. If this had happened after the League Cup win it would've been understandable. However, now? In the middle of a horrendous run in the league? Call me cynical, but this smacks of a disruptive tactic on the part of Aberdeen. As for Robbo, yes a big increase in wages and budget, but at a club that didn't have you in the top three or four candidates for the job? Good luck with that. Also, throw the St Mirren fanbase that has stood by you under the bus.

Michael: While he has undoubtedly been a success at St Mirren he has possibly let the Aberdeen focus on him earlier in the season affect his game. Now might be the right time for Robinson and St Mirren to go separate ways. Nothing lasts forever.

Alan: Think the timing is terrible but they like us are in a precarious position. Hopefully he stays until end of the season but two things as always, money talks and no one is bigger than the club.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

The imminent appointment of Stephen Robinson as Aberdeen manager will surprise many.

Not so much the appointment itself given what Robinson has achieved at St Mirren with a tiny budget compared to the riches handed to predecessor Jimmy Thelin at Pittodrie.

The timing and the process that has ultimately led to it is what has left heads being scratched.

Robinson led Saints to three top six finishes in a row, European football for the first time since 1987 and of course, the League Cup in December, just a fortnight before Thelin was sacked.

If this had happened in January few would have been taken aback, but St Mirren are now on the same trajectory as the rudderless Dons with one win in 13 Premiership games. So, why not make the move two months ago if he is the right man?

Dons sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel has been leading the recruitment process and names like Uwe Rosler, Eirik Horneland and Sandro Schwarz were all linked with the job as the club's search dragged on amid the backdrop of dire results culminating in their Scottish Cup exit in Dunfermline.

How many of Pfannenstiel's targets have looked under the bonnet and thought better of it?

Chairman Dave Cormack has been a fan of Robinson for some time and has made the move to land his man but it feels panicky with interim Peter Leven looking like he had seen a ghost after full-time on Saturday.

Robinson has earned his move personally but the Pittodrie board appears to have many questions to answer about the journey they have undertaken to come up with this solution.

Aberdeen have been given permission to enter formal talks with St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson.

The Dons, currently led by caretaker boss Peter Leven, are still searching for a permanent manager after Jimmy Thelin was sacked at the start of January.

Robinson, 51, has been at St Mirren since 2022 and has guided the club to three successive top-six finishes as well as this season's League Cup success.

Buddies fans, how do you feel about Robinson's potential exit? And if he goes, who should replace him?

Have your say via this link

Andrew Christie
Fan writer

Sunday at the SMiSA had the feel of a real capital C capital T Cup Tie.

Partick Thistle were decent - second in the Championship, a sold-out away end, genuine belief they could come to Paisley and make the most of their big day.

They made us work. Ben Stanway's sharp volley after 61 minutes gave us a nervier last half hour than we needed.

But Dan Nlundulu's first-half penalty, Jake Young's finish right before the break, and a backline that stood firm when the pressure came got us through relatively comfortably in the end.

Eleven cup games this season. Never been behind once. At some point, you have to stop comparing the St Mirren of the league (boo) to the St Mirren of the cup (yass) and start accepting it as kind of just what we do. I've stopped trying to figure us out.

St Mirren are in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. We face Celtic - the same Celtic we beat 3-1 in December to lift the League Cup.

This squad, which has beaten Hearts, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Celtic already in cup football this season, will show up. It has a habit of doing that.

Whatever Celtic bring - and they'll bring plenty, because nobody wants to lose to us twice in a national cup final in the same season - this group has shown repeatedly that the bigger the occasion, the more settled they look.

Third Hampden appearance of the season for the Paisley Good Guys. There are supporters of clubs with far greater resources who haven't seen their side at a national stadium that many times this decade, and we're getting "the usual?"-d in the pubs of Mount Florida.

A strange, brilliant, maddening club to support. Good fun, isn't it?

Andrew Christie can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Image source, SNS

New St Mirren striker Jake Young is determined to kick on after his goal beat Partick Thistle and sent the Buddies to Hampden for the third time this season.

The 24-year-old arrived from Stevenage in the winter window and had a tricky start to life in Paisley, being sent off in his first start, but has bounced back to win the trust of his new gaffer and score in his past two games.

"I needed [those goals]," he told BBC Scotland. "It's great to get the goals and it builds the confidence. I've still got a way to go to show my best, but it feels good to get a couple. Hopefully I can kick on and get a couple."

The Buddies will face Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, with Dunfermline meeting Falkirk on the other side of the tie.

"We're going to have to play Celtic at some point," Young added. "Just excited about tonight, happy to get to Hampden and looking forward to the challenge ahead."

His performance against Thistle was also praised by both his manager, Stephen Robinson, and his striker partner Dan Nlundulu, who set up Young's goal.

"[For Jake's goal] I was thinking of shooting!" Nlundulu admitted. "But then Jake started screaming. I put him quite wide, and it's a better finish than my pass.

"In training, Jake does that all the time so I trusted him."

Speaking after the match, Robinson said: "I've watched Jake [Young] for a couple of years. We got the opportunity to get him up and we knew it would take time for him to hit the ground.

"But he's the most natural goalscorer we have. And for a club like St Mirren that's difficult to find.

"He scores out of nothing, two great finishes, and when you're not on top of your game, good strikers win games for you."

We asked for your thoughts after St Mirren beat Partick Thistle 2-1 to reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Here's what you had to say:

Gus: If you have a slight winger and a midfielder up front and you're stupid enough to hit high balls towards them, don't moan at them when it doesn't work, especially if you're Mark O'Hara and don't ever act like a captain.

Ian: We managed to beat Thistle without the spark that we needed to win the League Cup and beat Hearts a few weeks ago. If we do not get that spark back for the cup semi-final against Celtic, we are in trouble. Here's hoping.

Anon: An enjoyable evening of football. Thistle supporters filled the away stand which resulted in a good atmosphere and nothing more.

Stuart: Another abysmal performance. In total control first half, then collapsed when they pulled one back. As usual, desperate substitutions just made things worse. And why was Killian Phillips wandering about moaning?

St Mirren are through to their second knock-out semi-final of the season after edging out visitors Partick Thistle 2-1 in the Scottish Cup.

It means they will face Celtic in a rematch of December's League Cup final.

Read the match report.

Let us know your thoughts.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren were handed a rematch with Celtic, who they beat in December's League Cup final, after beating Partick Thistle 2-1 to reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

And manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "If you're going to win a cup, you have to beat Celtic or Rangers at some stage - so why not?

"There's a belief that we can do it. We need to be the best version of ourselves - that we haven't been in recent weeks.

"We found a way to win tonight. We have an opportunity to go to Hampden, which for this football club is incredible.

"We've got injuries galore. Marcus Fraser is out for eight weeks, Mika Mandron is out for six or eight weeks and Kion Etete got injured in the warm-up - so we had no strikers to bring on. But we found a way."

Striker Jake Young stepped up with his second goal in two games with what proved to be the winner.

"I've watched Jake for a couple of years," Robinson says of the 24-year-old signed from Stevenage in January. "We got the opportunity to get him up and we knew it would take time for him to hit the ground.

"But he's the most natural goalscorer we have. And, for a club like St Mirren, that's difficult to find.

"He scores out of nothing, two great finishes and, when you're not on top of your game, good strikers win games for you."

Image source, SNS

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is looking to secure his side's spot in the Scottish Cup semi-final and see off a Partick Thistle side helped on by the man who first brought him to Scottish football.

Ian Baraclough is Thistle's director of football and the pair will face off on Sunday night, 11 years on from when they first worked together.

Baraclough brought Robinson to Motherwell as his assistant where he stayed on to work under Mark McGhee.

The 51-year-old has been in Scottish football for most of the time since then, outwith spells in England with Oldham and Morecambe.

"He will be a massive person to speak to for Mark [Wilson] and Mark will be bouncing things off him all the time, I would imagine," the Northern Irishman said.

"Ian's been there and done it, he's managed at international level as well.

"He gave me my first opportunity in Scottish football when he brought me in as assistant of Motherwell so I have a lot of time and respect for him.

"He hasn't spoken to me for a few weeks, to be fair, so he's gone very quiet. We'll see what he's got to say for himself on Sunday night."

Image source, SNS

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson has urged the club's fans to get out in numbers on Sunday and back the struggling team as they aim to reach Hampden again.

The Paisley side enjoyed success this season with their Premier Sports Cup triumph but are deep in a Premiership relegation battle and without a win in five games prior to their home Scottish Cup quarter-final against Partick Thistle - live on BBC Scotland.

The ambitious Championship club have already sold out their 1,600 ticket allocation and St Mirren have warned Thistle supporters that any who attempt to infiltrate the home stands will be ejected. Robinson wants the visitors outnumbered and outsung.

He said: "Partick will fill the away end. We need our fans to fill the ground.

"They can be an extra man for us. They've been an incredible support to me and the players throughout the four years. This is when we need them.

"This is when you really, really need your fans. This is when it's harder because you're not winning games. It's easy to be a fan when you get to the cup finals.

"The expectation is massive now. Not met by the resources, but it's been met by the players. We'll try and meet that again. We'll try and work our way through that.

"The group of players have given the fan base something they've not had in a generation, and consistently over four years.

"Now is the time for the fans, and the vast majority of them have been absolutely brilliant with us, to really get behind this group of players and try and drive us into the semi-final."

And the manager is looking for encouragement and positive backing to help reverse the current run of form.

"In any job, getting told you're not very good doesn't really inspire you and that's difficult," he said.

"Everybody's got their right to an opinion, of course, but we have to remember what this group of players have given us. Consistently, not a one-off.

"The fans have given exactly the same back to us and, when everyone comes together and supports through thick and thin, then we can defy the odds."

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

I don't wish to alarm you, but I've started looking at how many points teams generally need to avoid finishing second bottom of the Premiership.

Maybe you've done this too.

Forty points pretty much ensures there's no play-off required. Thirty seven is usually good enough. Thirty five? Possibly. Thirty four maybe?

Any lower and things look decidedly dodgy.

St Mirren have 24, three more than Kilmarnock. The way things are going there's a clear and present danger the Buddies could end up scrapping for survival against whichever Championship side prevails in the promotion play-off semi-final.

One win in 13 is relegation form with a capital R. So is five wins in 29. Drilling deeper into the stats is even more depressing.

Eight goals in Paisley, half the total of the next lowest scorers at home (Dundee United). One away win with 30 goals conceded on the road. It makes grim reading so I won't go on.

Pundits who were saying a few weeks ago St Mirren would be fine are now thinking otherwise. Little wonder, when it seems whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

The trip to Tannadice is a prime example.

Two goals conceded; an own goal (and not just a deflection) and a penalty awarded when the ball struck Alex Gogic's arm as he was appealing for an offside. What are the chances?

The there's the injuries. Stephen Robinson says this season has been the worst in his managerial career for them. For example, just as mainstays Mark O'Hara and Keanu Baccus return, Mikael Mandron is ruled out for the next six weeks at least.

Whatever the causes, they are where they are. The table doesn't lie.

And as Robinson said after the defeat at Tannadice, it is "time to stand up and be counted".

Like they did in the League Cup run perhaps, when Hearts, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Celtic were put to the sword.

There's a doctoral essay to be written on the reasons for the decline in form since then. Did they peak too early? What impact did the cup run have physically and mentally?

The more important question now is can the Buddies channel that cup spirit and determination in the battle for survival?

Whatever happens in the Scottish Cup quarter final against Partick Thistle and in any subsequent semi-final, if you allow me there are nine 'cup finals' ahead - all of them in the Premiership.

If things don't go to plan then it's 10, including the play off-final. Maybe even 11 if you include the Scottish Cup final. It's been that sort of season.

Perhaps the Buddies will rediscover their missing mojo in Sunday's cup tie at home to the Jags. It's a great opportunity to look for it at least.

Buckle up, it's going to be a heck of an interesting ride.

St Mirren fans, we asked for your views on Tuesday night's 2-1 defeat at Dundee United.

Here's what some of you said:

Douglas: Everyone knew it would be an untidy game due to the moon-like surface of the pitch, but it will go down in the records as a very ugly win for United where neither team deserved a victory, never mind a defeat. Both teams were as bad as each other. We have lost the knack of pressing the opposition into mistakes and maybe teams have now learned how to counter us.

John: I hate saying this but in any other season the manager could be going into a cup tie on Sunday against a Championship side knowing a loss would see him out of a job. The League Cup win is keeping him in the post, but with only five league wins in the season, sad to say the clock is ticking. We continually look disjointed, always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot, and the football is absolutely terrible.

Frank: Worried. I can't see we're a win is going to come from.

Alan: Just when you think things can't get any worse we go ahead and mess up even more. Marcus Fraser I'm sorry to say needs time on the bench. What Alex Gogic was thinking claiming for offside as the ball is punted into the box is criminal. We will be lucky to get anything from our next four league games.

Chris: Last night was an opportunity to put breathing space between us and Killie but as expected, we couldn't take it. I believe Killie are too strong now to finish in the play-off spot, and while Livingston are 10 points behind us, I wouldn't rule them out in catching us. We have Rangers, Falkirk, Aberdeen and Celtic next, and I'm struggling to see where we pick up any points. We have no style or system in place, and that's even more worrying than the results. Something has to change, the fans are losing patience in the squad and even Robinson.

Watch all the highlights as Dundee United piled more pressure on struggling St Mirren with a 2-1 win at Tannadice. Available to UK users only.