Celtic Park first after the break, with St Mirren eighth and a tough Saturday ahead
Sunday 15 November 2026 · By Harris Scott
St Mirren have not played since the 2–0 home defeat by Rangers on 7 November, and the international break has left them eighth. On the BBC Premiership table, taken at 12:24 GMT this lunchtime, they have 14 points from 13 games, three behind the group of Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone on 17, and one above Motherwell, who are also on 13 games played. It is tight in both directions, and the first game back does not make it any easier.
Celtic, the league leaders, are at home to St Mirren on Saturday 21 November at 15:00 GMT. Celtic are top on 31 points from 13 games, four ahead of Rangers, and they have not played since beating Kilmarnock 1–0 at Celtic Park on 8 November, Liam Scales scoring in the 26th minute in front of a BBC-reported crowd of 58,269. That is the ground St Mirren go to first.
A point in Glasgow would be a very good day's work, and three would be a result that would change the look of the table. A defeat, the more likely outcome on paper, would leave St Mirren still in the pack, still one point above Motherwell, who host Rangers that evening, and still three behind the sides on 17. Unlike some of the clubs around them, St Mirren have already played 13, the same as St Johnstone, so there is no game in hand to fall back on. The points have to come from the matches in front of them.
Craig McLeish has had two weeks on the training ground. Rangers left Paisley with a 2–0 win, and Celtic will start as strong favourites at home. McLeish's side have shown they can be difficult to play against when they stay compact, and they will need that, and a bit more in the final third, if they are going to get anything at Celtic Park.
Switzerland play Scotland on Monday at 19:45 GMT. That match has not been played yet. Any St Mirren players involved will need managing before a trip to the league leaders five days later.
The mid-table picture is crowded enough that one result can move a club two or three places. St Mirren are in that group, and a trip to Celtic Park is a hard way to start the next phase, but it is also a chance to measure themselves against the side at the top. After that, Kilmarnock come to the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday 28 November, a home game that will look even more important if Saturday does not go their way.
Eighth, on 14 points from 13 games, is a respectable position in mid-November. The gap to sixth is three points, and the gap to 11th is only three points the other way. Saturday will not decide the season, but it will tell us plenty about where McLeish's side sit as the campaign heads towards December.
The supporters who travel to the east end of Glasgow will want a performance, first, and a result if it is there to be taken.
If you are travelling to Paisley to watch your side take on the Buddies, St Mirren Park is an easy ground to find and a simple one to get around. It opened on 31 January 2009, replacing the old Love Street ground a short walk away. You will also hear it called the SMiSA Stadium, after the supporters’ association that owns the club, and by its sponsor name, the Marbill Coaches Stadium. The address to aim for is Greenhill Road, Paisley, PA3 1RU.
The ground holds a little under 8,000, all seated, in four separate covered stands with the corners left open. It is compact rather than grand. A wide strip of grass sits between the touchline and the front row, so you are not quite on top of the pitch, but the rake is decent and the sightlines are clean. The pitch runs north to south, 105 metres by 68, so the goals sit at the two ends, in front of the North and South stands.
Visiting supporters are housed in the North Stand, behind the north goal, on Ferguslie Park Avenue. It takes a little over 1,600. Turnstiles for the away end are generally 17 to 20; check your ticket, because the club confirms the gates for each fixture. Disabled away supporters are usually directed to the northeast gate. If your club brings a bigger following, St Mirren sometimes opens a block of the West Stand as overspill. That stand runs down the Craigielea Drive side and is the largest in the ground, so an overspill seat is a side view rather than one behind the goal.
Across the pitch is the East Stand, the Main Stand, on Greenhill Road, with the dressing rooms, dugouts and hospitality. The other goal is in front of the South Stand, the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand, on Drums Avenue. That is the home family end, and on a normal matchday you will not be mixed in with it. Seats are numbered, so sit where the ticket says. Prices move with the fixture, but away adults have recently been in the high twenties to the mid thirties, with concessions lower. Buy through your own club.
The ground is no smoking and no vaping, and stewards will turn away anyone who is clearly drunk. The concourse behind the North Stand does tea, pies and a programme, and not much else. The supporters’ club at the stadium is for members and their guests. Most of the pubs are in the town centre: the Wee Howff on the High Street for real ale, the Bull Inn on New Street, and the Old Swan Inn on Smithhills Street.
Paisley St James station sits almost opposite the north end, which is your end. It is two minutes by train from Paisley Gilmour Street, itself a short hop from Glasgow Central. On foot from Gilmour Street it is about twenty minutes, and there is a taxi rank in County Square. By car, leave the M8 at Junction 29, the St James Interchange, and follow the Paisley signs rather than the A737. Street parking around Clark Street suits the away end, but mind the restrictions and residents’ drives. Coaches should avoid the low bridge on Greenhill Road, about three metres clearance, and approach via the A726. Coach parking is usually signed for Clark Street. Get back out to St James in good time if the allocation is full. A covered seat behind the goal, a station across the road, and the motorway on the doorstep: that is the away day here.