St Mirren

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St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson: "Frustration [is the main emotion]. We had so much of the ball, so much of the build. Our final decision was the reason that we don't take all three points.

"We totally dominated the game. We didn't land a lot of second balls first-half but we still delivered loads of balls, 47 balls into the box, 47 crosses, and we haven't managed to get on the end of any of them.

"Some of the quality of them could be better. Some of the movement could be better. It's just frustrating that we got into really good areas, had a great chance, but their goalkeeper, makes a fantastic save.

"We deserved to win the game, I thought we had a lot of ownership of the game.

"Killie offered a threat on the counter-attack. They've got some good players at the top end of the pitch, but the overriding emotion is probably frustration with that amount of the ball, that amount of chances, that amount of crosses. But if you're not clinical, then you don't get the three points.

"The positive is we've gone five unbeaten now in all competitions, and that's our third clean sheet in a row in the league. So that's a real positive for us and we want to keep that run going."

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St Mirren remain without Keanu Baccus with a long-term hamstring problem but the midfielder does not require surgery.

Klimarnock defender Robbie Deas is suspended and striker Marley Watkins remains doubtful.

Max Stryjek (heart), Kyle Magennis (knee), Jamie Brandon (ankle/groin), Djenairo Daniels (knee) and Matty Kennedy (hip) remain out.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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If last season was a nightmare for St Mirren's Conor McMenamin, this term has been the stuff of dreams.

Knee and Achilles injuries kept the 30-year-old out of action for four months from mid-December and he ended the campaign having made just 11 appearances.

McMenamin has surpassed that total already this season, picking up a League Cup winner's medal in the process, and is now targeting a return to international football with Northern Ireland.

The Buddies number 10 has been used predominantly at right wing-back lately under manager Stephen Robinson.

"I was obviously a bit naive to the whole position. Gradually I'm getting better at that and that comes with playing games," said McMenamin.

"On the training pitch, the coaches work with me on certain things both in the defensive and attacking side of it.

"So it's all about taking chances because we've got a great squad there and you know if you're not doing well, somebody's there to replace you. It keeps everyone on their toes."

McMenamin started at right wing-back in St Mirren's league wins over Dundee United and Livingston and in the cup final triumph over Celtic.

"When that final whistle went in the cup final, you forget about the injuries and all the hard work you've done to get back as long as the team wins, that's the most important thing," he added.

"My ultimate goal is just to try and stay in the team and hopefully help the team win."

McMenamin also has his heart set on adding to his 14 Northern Ireland caps, especially with a World Cup play-off coming up against Italy in March.

"As soon as the final whistle went last week, I got back to my phone and all the staff at Northern Ireland were congratulating me and wishing the team and everyone all the best," he said.

"I've had a lot of injuries the last couple of years, but the pinnacle for any footballer is to play for their country. And I'm no different.

"I love playing for Northern Ireland. The main goal for me heading into the next few weeks here is to try and cement my seat on that plane for Italy.

"It'll be a really tough match but it's one that I think we can go and win. "

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media before St Mirren host Kilmarnock in the Premiership this weekend.

Here are the key points from the Buddies boss:

• Robinson says the club have had an "acknowledgment" from the Scottish FA that Jonah Ayunga's disallowed goal against Livingston last weekend should have stood. The manager adds: "I think everybody in the stadium knew it was wrong. But we managed to win the game outwith that anyway. So that's what we have to concentrate on."

• St Mirren's recent history with VAR decisions has curtailed goal celebrations: "You stop celebrating because you're expecting things now... we still have to do what we do and you hope that they get more decisions right than they're getting wrong."

• On the January transfer window, Robinson says there are "certain areas" he is keen to improve and the board will support signings who can "make the team stronger" but the "challenge" is to find players who are "better than what's here".

• On the League Cup win making players targets for bigger clubs, Robinson says Miguel Freckleton and Killian Phillips have been attracting "a lot of attention" but St Mirren "don't need to sell".

• He adds: "You're never in control. You're always at the mercy of the bigger clubs. We are a club where the model is to sell footballers. The model is to produce boys and sell them either at an earlier age or develop them and sell them and we need that just to exist and survive. We will sell people on our terms when the money is right for the club to take that and reinvest it back into the football club."

• On whether the cup win will attract new supporters to the club: "I think the last three-and-a-half years has been a steady increase. The amount of people we took to the cup final, we'd love that to be every week. We believe we've gained some younger fans, some fans that maybe haven't been in the area for a little while as well and they're enjoying watching this team play."

• Keanu Baccus' hamstring injury does not require surgery but he will be out for eight to 10 weeks. Robinson hopes the midfielder recovers in time to make Australia's World Cup squad: "If you rush it, then it could end up requiring surgery which would put him out for the rest of the season. We're confident he'll come back stronger. He's defied the odds many, many times. He's a big loss for us but we're hoping he times that run to come back and ends up in that Australian World Cup squad as well which would be fantastic for him."

• Playing against Kilmarnock is "a bit of a local derby" and St Mirren aim to "keep building on our recent results and good performances. It's another chance to claw some ground back on the teams above us."

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• After their 5-1 victory in March last season, St Mirren could earn back-to-back home wins over Kilmarnock in the top flight for the first time since March 2012.

• Kilmarnock have only lost one of their past 12 Scottish Premiership meetings with St Mirren (W6 D5), keeping seven clean sheets in this period, including in a 2-0 win most recently in October.

• St Mirren have dropped more points from winning positions (14) than any other team in the Premiership this season, while they have also recovered the fewest points (1) from losing positions.

• Since the start of October, only Livingston (0.4) have a lower points per game ratio than Kilmarnock (0.42) in the Premiership, winning just five points from their 12 matches in this period (W1 D2 L9).

• St Mirren have made the fewest changes to their starting XI (26) in the top flight this season, while only three side have made more than Kilmarnock (49).

Andrew Christie
Fan writer

For St Mirren, the 2025/26 season has thus far been one of swings and roundabouts.

Over on the swing, you have VAR officials smashing the "disallow goal" button like they're Fred Again at Glastonbury. On the roundabout, you have Stephen Robinson hanging off a bus on Gauze Street with the League Cup trophy.

A day after our dominant, should-have-been-more, why-is-he-holding-his-face-there, 1-0 win over David Martindale's struggling Livingston, the Saints paraded the 2025 League Cup trophy through central Paisley on an open-top bus.

By the end of the weekend, it was obvious something had shifted. Not just in the trophy cabinet or the league table, but in that harder-to-measure sense where the mood around a club just feels… different. Lighter. Less brittle. Like everyone's shoulders have dropped half an inch.

Yes, there was a game in there, and yes, St Mirren were pretty good in it. Good in a focused, quietly determined way. This was meant to be the awkward comedown - the post-cup fog where legs are heavy, breath is beery, and minds are elsewhere - but instead it felt purposeful, assured, oddly composed.

The football didn't look like a hangover; it looked like a team that had absorbed what it had achieved and refocused. That alone felt significant.

Then you add the rest of the weekend. The bus, the crowds, the cup glinting in winter light as it rolled through Paisley. Scarves held high along every street. The kind of noise that bounces off buildings. Players looking less like distant professionals and more like lads who'd done something properly meaningful for the place they represent. It all bled together - the performance, the celebration, the sense of shared ownership - into something bigger than either moment on its own.

That's why the league season suddenly feels like it's beginning now. Not restarting, not being rescued, just settling. The cup didn't distract from the campaign; it clarified it.

St Mirren look more certain of themselves, and so does everyone around them. The football's the same, the fixtures keep coming - but the noise in the background has changed. And sometimes, that's everything.

Andrew Christie can be found at Misery Hunters, external

St Mirren fans haven't been short of reasons to rage at VAR intervention this season.

And there was yet more controversy on Saturday as Jonah Ayunga's opener against Livingston was ruled out because Dan Nlundulu's arm brushed against the face of Daniel Finlayson in the build-up.

Sportscene pundit Neil McCann said Saints had every right to feel aggrieved, saying the VAR "just shouldn't be getting involved" in the incident and it was not a "clear and obvious error".

At least it didn't cost Stephen Robinson's team points as they eventually found the breakthrough with a Mikael Mandron strike to keep the momentum rolling after their historic League Cup triumph.

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

We asked for your views on St Mirren's 1-0 win against Livingston.

Here's what some of you said:

Michael: Once again the story seems to be yet again about VAR. We are told that this will even out over the season but the real question is when?

Good performance and good follow up to their Cup victory but it did seem to be hard work. Solid performance from a solid St Mirren team. Alex Gogic in midfield is a masterstroke by Stephen Robinson. Classic case of poacher turned gamekeeper?

Iain: Yet another perfectly good St Mirren goal ruled out by VAR, "These things even themselves out." - aye, that will be right! We're three years into this fiasco and St Mirren still seem to get cheated by VAR all the time.

Ali: Seems like we're back to business as usual with VAR. I can't help but feel the VAR team are scanning for any reason to disallow goals. Completely kills the joy of celebrating a goal when you are waiting for the inevitable call over to the monitor. Luckily we have points to celebrate but still, this is starting to feel far too common.

Alistair: Comfortable win for the Cup champions but once again officials have not done their job, you won't eliminate play acting when it offers so much reward.

John: Ground out an important win against an opponent that simply wasn't interested in playing football.

What is the point of Livi? Cynical and, at times, outright cheating, condoned by VAR. Saints should have won more convincingly, but seemed a bit flat at times, given last week's heroics. Still, they saw it through and picked up a deserved three points. Onwards and upwards.

Peter: Vital three points well earned by Saints. Very difficult to play against a team whose tactics are to stop the play by any means. The disallowed goal should have stood according to everyone at the game and all the commentators.

St Mirren chief executive and former Motherwell player Keith Lasley attended the Buddies' 1987 Scottish Cup final win and says last weekend's Premier Sports Cup triumph was "probably right at the very top of" his moments in football. (Record), external

Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was one of those who texted St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson following the Buddies' Premier Sports Cup final win. (Herald - subscription required), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

League Cup winners St Mirren kept the feelgood factor flowing this festive season after a narrow Scottish Premiership victory over Livingston gave them a third consecutive win.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say here.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It was really, really important that we capped off the week with a victory.

"It was a really, really good performance. We should've and could've won by a lot more goals. They've had a fantastic week. It's been a brilliant week for the football club. We're delighted with the week.

"We showed really good composure, kept playing, kept passing and a really, really good goal [by Mikael Mandron] to win the game.

"I thought the [disallowed Jonah Ayunga] goal should've stood. It's hard to find any fault with the goal. Luckily today it didn't cost us, it is seven goals now disallowed."

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St Mirren have lost Keana Baccus to a long-term hamstring tendon injury but captain Mark O'Hara is closing in on a return from a foot problem.

Malik Dijksteel sat out last weekend's League Cup final with a fitness issue.

Livingston defender Ryan McGowan is suspended while Cammy Kerr (groin), Aidan Denholm and Shane Blaney (both hamstring) and Adam Montgomery (calf) remain on the sidelines.

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Stephen Robinson "thought somebody was winding me up" when he received a message of congratulations from Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of St Mirren's League Cup triumph.

The Buddies boss revealed some of the "humbling" praise that has come his way since steering his side to their first trophy in 12 years.

Ferguson, who won the First Division title as St Mirren boss in 1977, was among those to contact Robinson after the 3-1 Hampden triumph over Celtic last Sunday.

"I thought somebody was winding me up, but Sir Alex sent me a message, which I couldn't believe," the Northern Irishman said.

"Actually, my boy was in the next room and I was shouting: 'Son, are you sending me messages, messing about?' But, no, Sir Alex sent me a brilliant message. So from a legend in the game like that, I was extremely humbled.

"Eddie Howe, Brendan Rodgers, to name but a few, there was quite a few messages, which is fantastic.

"I'm humbled when you get that level of manager text you 'well done'.

"Somebody that's got that stature in the game and done what Sir Alex has done, I keep using the word humble because I'm just a wee guy from Northern Ireland that is doing the job to the best of his ability, so to get recognised by people like that is amazing."

Robinson is determined not to allow his cup-winning side to rest on their laurels.

"I don't think you can do because once you start believing you're a really good side, you forget the things that made you good," he said.

"Even when we weren't winning games in that run, we worked very, very hard. We played some really, really good football, we were very organised.

"When you think you don't need to do that same level of organisation or running or closing down, then football bites you on the bum very quickly.

"I'm determined to not let that happen because the narrative changes very, very quickly.

"You know, six weeks ago we were a really poor team. Then we got a couple of wins, we were decent. Then we win the cup, we're brilliant. I don't think we're any of those.

"I think we're a team constantly improving, constantly working to stay in this division with our resources, and trying to take the club forward as a whole, as a base to leave a foundation at this football club that wasn't here previously."

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St Mirren have been dealt a "real blow" with Keanu Baccus ruled out for up to three months because of a hamstring injury.

The 27-year-old Australia international has become an important member of Stephen Robinson's side since returning to Paisley in the summer and played the full game in last Sunday's League Cup final win over Celtic.

"We've had really bad news about Keanu Baccus," manager Robinson said.

"He's had a hamstring tendon injury, so he could be out up to the guts of three months, at least eight to 10 weeks. So that's a real blow for us.

"He'll see the specialist. Hopefully it doesn't require surgery."

The Buddies are looking to keep up the momentum from their historic cup win when they return to league action against bottom club Livingston on Saturday.

Robinson's side have won just one of their past nine league games, leaving them ninth in the table.

"The cup win is for the history books now. The present is we need points on the board, we need to win football matches, which we've started to do, and we have to play to the best of our ability," he added.

"I can look back on that and we can all be very, very proud of that achievement, but I'm one that moves on very quickly.

"Our focus on Monday morning was how we beat Livingston."

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Livingston manager David Martindale believes St Mirren's League Cup triumph was "just rewards" for the way they have been run over many years.

The sides go head-to-head in Paisley on Saturday with Livingston bottom of the Premiership and desperate for a first win since August.

In contrast, St Mirren are still on a high after beating Wilfried Nancy's Celtic 3-1 at Hampden on Sunday, their first major trophy in 12 years.

Despite that, Martindale is confident his side can come away with something if they play to their full potential.

"I've got a lot of respect for [Stephen Robison] and what he's done at the club," Martindale said.

"Very, very well-run football club that are getting their just rewards for that continuity they've kept in the building, style of play, how they want to play, their manager, their players they've recruited every window, they enhance their club.

"There's a lot to be said about how St Mirren run their football club and how Robbo and his staff manage that group of players.

"It was well deserved [winning the League Cup]. Going to Paisley is a difficult game of football on the back of anything, win, lose or draw. I know it's going to be a difficult game on Saturday.

"I don't think any team goes and enjoys going to play football in Paisley and that's testament to Robbo and his staff.

"It's going to be a difficult game but I think it's definitely one we can get something from. But you need to work extremely hard if you're going to get anything from the game from a really tough St Mirren team who have had a lot of success in recent years."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Given there will have been a bit of partying going on in Paisley since Sunday's win over Celtic at Hampden, St Mirren will probably be relieved their next opponents are bottom-placed Livingston - and in front of their own fans.

There is likely to be a party atmosphere at SMiSA Stadium and Jonah Ayunga will hope to be swept along to another goalscoring performance after his brace in the League Cup final.

Indeed, the 28-year-old England-born Kenya striker has three goals in his latest three appearances.

Should he score in back-to-back matches for St Mirren for the first time, he will match his goals tally for the previous 42 games.

Given Livingston have not won in 15 outings and have not won in their latest nine visits to Paisley, albeit only losing five, Stephen Robinson's ninth-placed side will be confident of a victory that is much needed considering they are in danger of being one of four sides detached at the bottom.

Especially so since David Martindale's side have just one league win this season, the fewest by any side in their opening 16 matches of a Scottish top-flight campaign since Gretna also started with just one victory in 2007.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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We're suckers for Christmas films in my house.

So far this advent we've watched Love Actually (good but controversial), Home Alone (say no more), something called Tinsel Town on Netflix (bang average), The Knight Before Christmas (dire) and A Castle for Christmas (slightly less dire) and Hercule Poirot's Christmas.

They all have happy endings, even the Agatha Chistie TV adaptation, and that had a murder in it.

None of them, though, could hold a Christmas candle to the blockbuster finale of St Mirren's League Cup win with its Hollywood ending.

A 3-1 win over the Scottish champions - and it could have been even more convincing. Talk about suspending disbelief.

This St Mirren story is an epic, somewhat unlikely tale with four Premiership sides taken care of in the knockout phase, including the holders and the team now at the top of the Premiership, two penalty shootout wins and a couple of tactical masterclasses by players who, according to Stephen Robinson, would "die for the club".

The manager, trophy in hand, addressing supporters from the balcony of Paisley Town Hall with Christmas lights twinkling in the distance was truly cinematic.

His words echoing round the centre of the town: "What a four years this has been, top six, Europe and now we win the cup."

Romance is not dead. All achieved on a shoestring budget that you couldn't produce a cheap indie flick on.

Mind you, as I toy with scribbling a screenplay for a Buddies blockbuster, I can't help wondering who would play Alex Gogic on the silver screen. After hearing the Cypriot singing at the Town Hall it definitely won't be a musical.

Anyway, such whimsical reverie should probably be put aside till the end of the season, as there are more important issues to focus on.

The battle for Premiership survival is more gritty kitchen sink drama than entertaining seasonal frolic.

Alas for the Buddies, unlike our favourite festive flicks, there's no guarantee of a happy ending.

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• Fresh from his brace in St Mirren's League Cup final win over Celtic, Jonah Ayunga has three goals in his past three appearances in all competitions – just one fewer than his previous 42 beforehand (four). Ayunga has never found the net in back-to-back matches for the club before.

• St Mirren are unbeaten in nine Scottish Premiership games at home to Livingston (W5 D4) since a 2-0 defeat in August 2018.

• After their 1-0 win in February 2024, Livingston could secure back-to-back Premiership wins over St Mirren for the first time since December 2018.

• After their 2-0 win over Dundee United, St Mirren could rack up successive home league victories for just the second time since the start of last season, previously doing so in March/April 2025.

• Livingston have just one win in their 16 league games this season (D6 L9), the fewest by any side in their opening 16 matches of a Scottish top-flight campaign since Gretna in 2007-08 (also one).

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Stephen McGinn says St Mirren fans can't believe their luck that Stephen Robinson hasn't been whisked away by another club.

After three successive top-six finishes, Robinson led Saints to his greatest achievement yet with victory over Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final on Sunday to land the club's first major trophy in 12 years.

"It's weird, the fan base are actually quite surprised they've still been able to keep him," former Buddies midfielder and coach McGinn told the BBC.

"Every time a job comes up they're thinking, surely our manager's going to get this one, and then he doesn't get it.

"It's almost like they can't believe their luck. Sometimes the Oldham and Morecambe jobs count against him because it didn't go so well for him south of the border.

"The St Mirren fans think he's a bit of a legend at Luton. That job came up recently and the St Mirren fans had it as we're going to lose him this time, and I don't think he was wanted.

"It's weird that the fan base are like, I can't believe nobody wants him."

McGinn insists the future is bright at St Mirren.

"The last time they won the League Cup in 2013 was a bit of a game-changer in terms of that younger generation," he added.

"You saw it again, St Mirren don't have 12, 13, 14,000 fans. But what you saw at the final was the fan with his wife and his kids, or with his uncle, or his friend.

"The scenes when that third goal went in, and probably from the third goal going into full-time when you know the cup is won, will stay with some of the kids forever.

"But one of the big things St Mirren did as a club was build a modern stadium with really nice facilities.

"Their average attendance has gone up by 2,000. It always sat for years at around 4,500 but it's now sitting at about 6,500.

"Cup wins, new stadium, things are looking really positive for the club."

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Premier Sports Cup final goalscorer Marcus Fraser believes St Mirren deserved to have "something to show" for their fine efforts over the last few seasons under Stephen Robinson.

The manager has guided the Buddies to three consecutive top six finishes in the Scottish Premiership, as well as bringing European football back to the club for the first time in 37 years, but the Paisley side were missing something tangible to have at the SMISA Stadium.

Until their sensational League Cup victory against Celtic on Sunday, of course.

"We speak about getting top six, which has been brilliant and we've been getting into Europe, but you don't really get anything at the end of it," Fraser, who opened the scoring inside two minutes at Hampden, said.

"It's good performances and it's consistency, but Sunday, off the back of a good performance, it was brilliant to get our hands on the trophy, something to lift, something to show everyone, and obviously show how good we've been over that year.

"This was probably the next step that this team had to take and thankfully we didn't freeze in the moment.

"We grabbed it with both hands and we took the opportunity, which was brilliant."

Fraser, who led the Buddies out in place of injured captain Mark O'Hara, described his goal as "the best moment of his career" and he paid tribute to Robinson, who won against Celtic in a major final at the third time of asking after two unsuccessful attempts with Motherwell.

"Incredible," Fraser said when describing the manager.

"When he first came in, I think it was a wee bit of a ropey start.

"No one was quite sure about where he was going to go, but since then the club's moved forward, improved the training ground, improved the stadium and the fans had bought into it as well.

"You can see that the fans love the manager, what he's done over the last few seasons.

"It's basic what he does. He just gets his information across to his players and we go out and do it on the pitch, but what he does on the training ground every day doesn't go unnoticed."

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Steve Clarke has praised former club St Mirren and their manager following their Premier Sports Cup win.

Stephen Robinson's side defeated holders Celtic 3-1 at Hampden, securing the Paisley club's first trophy since 2013.

Clarke played for St Mirren from 1982-87 and says they fully deserved their success.

"I never saw the scenes in Paisley but obviously delighted to see my old club win the trophy," Clarke told BBC Scotland.

"I thought they were the best team on the day, they played really well.

"Stephen set them up in a really good way, they caused Celtic a lot of problems.

"Pleased for Stephen as well, been in the game a long time up here, he's always shown that he knows the Scottish game inside out."