Man Utd's Devaney in talks with Hibs over loan movepublished at 09:43 BST 21 August
09:43 BST 21 August
Simon Stone Chief football news reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Jacob Devaney scored for Manchester United in their pre-season victory over Rosenborg in July
Manchester United youngster Jacob Devaney is in talks with Hibernian over a loan move back to the Scottish Premiership.
Devaney was captain of United's Premier League 2 side for the first half of last season, before moving to St Mirren for his first extended stint in senior football.
The 19-year-old impressed in his time at the club, making 18 appearances, including 16 starts.
Devaney returned to United for pre-season and featured in the first two matches, against Wrexham and Norwegian side Rosenborg, scoring in the latter, despite appearing in central defence rather than his preferred midfield role.
The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international said this summer his main aim was to play first-team football for United, but accepted he may have to spend the season on loan to gain further experience.
It is understood there has been huge interest in Devaney. Talks with Hibs have reached an advanced stage, although the deal is not done.
Hibs drew 0-0 with Belgian side Gent in the away leg of their Conference League play-off last night. The Edinburgh club are bidding to reach the league phase of a European competition for the first time.
End of cup reign not down to naivety published at 13:50 BST 18 August
13:50 BST 18 August
Mark Jardine Fan writer
December to August; not quite the length of that we were hoping for as League Cup champions, but better to have reigned and lost than never to have reigned at all.
Sunday's visit to Govan posed a real test for Craig McLeish and his developing side. The dramatic shift from pragmatic nuisances to free-flowing ball players has navigated lower-league opposition, a slightly bruised Falkirk and newly-promoted St Johnstone thus far - and looked mostly effective while doing so.
Do you double down on this approach against a toiling Rangers side? Or, as in times gone by, do you bow to more cautious instincts in front of 50,000 and their richly-assembled charges?
At the weekend, this Trojan panda filled with an equal share of possession and playing out from the back was rolled up to the Ibrox gates and left for the Premiership's good-honest-fitba-in-chief Derek McInnes to drag inside. Ninety dramatic minutes and five conceded goals later, the Saints were out and Ibrox remained unsacked.
To try to paint this performance as even partially positive is futile. Accusations of naivety or more drastic criticism, however, are a little short-sighted.
Plenty of five at the back, clear your lines, low block, put your foot through it St Mirren sides have rocked up in Glasgow and taken similar scoreline pastings. Not many have had a Rangers side with World Cup stars and seven-figure prospects on the run, repeatedly, and the hosts were lucky to finish with all 11 men on the park.
Jayden Richardson's failure to get the ball out of danger before Ryan Naderi's bundled opener, and Vanja Dragojevic channelling his inner Van Persie from 25 yards, are not symptoms of naive tactics and neither was Chris Mochrie's stunner at the other end.
Weaker defending in the second half is harder to explain away and lessons will need to be learned.
On another day, Rangers might have scored 10 or conceded five. This St Mirren side, welded to their open and attacking verve as they are, will likely feature in several of the season's more dramatic scorelines.
Hopefully, in time, this outing can be reflected on as an early stumble in the development of a Saints side that can marry seat-of-your-pants excitement with a bit more defensive stability and resilience.
Postponement of what would have been a rapid return to Rangers on league duty means McLeish and his squad have a couple of weeks now to lick their wounds and prepare to host fellow cup casualties Motherwell.
Two weeks on the turf at Ralston and a couple of further additions to a squad still in transition could make a real difference.
'Tactically brave but naive'published at 15:11 BST 17 August
15:11 BST 17 August
St Mirren fans, we asked for your views after Sunday's heavy Premier Sports Cup defeat by Rangers.
Here's what some of you said:
Simon: Felt like a bit of a wake up. We played some nice football and made chances too, but we were frequently caught on the counter with very little cover behind the ball.
Jim: St Mirren lacking pace at the back really let them down. Going forward they look like a real threat to any defence but the gaps in midfield and at the back will cost them dearly. The substitutions well into the second half gave some hope of improving the season.
Paul: Disappointing, I thought the game would be a lot closer than 5-1. Some individuals were stand out for the wrong reasons. Need at least one CB, a RB and some muscle up front wouldn't hurt.
William: The scoreline flattered Rangers. Yes, the best team won but two debatable offsides, a retaken penalty (for an unclear reason) and the offending player not receiving a second yellow for a horrible tackle sums up Rangers' good fortune.
John: Tactically brave but naive. You just don't give one of the Old Firm that amount of time and space on their territory. We desperately need a decent striker, some grit in the middle of the park to battle in the trenches, and a proper centre-back to play alongside Alex Gogic. Given Marcus Fraser was (allegedly) on the bench due to a slight injury, why was he thrown in to replace Liam Donnelly who injured himself in the warm up?
More business to be done at St Mirren - gossippublished at 08:13 BST 17 August
08:13 BST 17 August
Craig McLeish revealed there will be more business done by St Mirren before the transfer window closes, with Roland Idowu on his way out and Killian Phillips' future still up in the air. (Daily Record), external
Rangers 5-1 St Mirren: What McLeish saidpublished at 20:18 BST 16 August
20:18 BST 16 August
Image source, SNS
St Mirren boss Craig McLeish tells Premier Sports: "I think it's just disappointing from our part because we spoke about defending this.
"We showed some good things in moments but when you come away to Rangers moments aren't enough to get through. We were on the receiving end of Rangers being ruthless.
"I didn't quite understand why [Emmanuel] Fernandez wouldn't be booked in that situation, he felt like there was maybe a covering defender. That could change the game as well. Killian is unfortunate that he had to retake the penalty.
"We are bitterly disappointed about going out in the manner that we did."
Rangers 5-1 St Mirren: Have your saypublished at 18:11 BST 16 August
18:11 BST 16 August
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James Penrice scored and assisted on his debut as Derek McInnes' Rangers alleviated concerns about an early-season crisis by dispatching holders St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup last 16.
St Mirren 'fight off interest' to sign Arsenal winger Kabia on loanpublished at 16:14 BST 15 August
16:14 BST 15 August
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Image caption,
Ismael Kabia featured for Arsenal during a pre-season friendly against Girona in Spain
St Mirren have signed winger Ismeal Kabia on a season-long loan from English Premier League champions Arsenal.
The 20-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury Town becomes the Buddies' ninth summer signing.
Kabia was included in Arsenal's matchday squad for the first time back in 2024 against Tottenham but didn't feature.
His one and only first team appearance came in Arsenal's 5-1 win over Bolton in the League Cup.
"We're delighted to have Ismeal with us," manager Craig McLeish said.
"We've put a lot of work into it over the last few weeks. Arsenal had to give the go-ahead for when he could be released to come up because he's been involved with their first team throughout pre-season and played in some of their games.
"Mikel Arteta gave the clearance after their friendly the other night that he was happy with their squad.
"He'll bring real excitement. He's a one-v-one type winger with real pace and directness.
"He had 43 appearances with Shrewsbury last season in League Two. He played a lot of football last season and now he's looking for his next step in his development. We're getting a really good, hungry young player.
"We've had to fight off a lot of interest in him as well. He had lots of different options up here and down south and in Europe. It's a really good one for us and we're really excited to show him off."
'We're not giving up easy' - Carr sends defiant League Cup messagepublished at 10:41 BST 15 August
10:41 BST 15 August
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Midfielder Ryan Carr insists St Mirren will do everything in their power to retain their League Cup trophy as they travel to Rangers in Sunday's last 16 tie.
The Buddies, led by Stephen Robinson, beat Wilfried Nancy's Celtic 3-1 at Hampden last December to lift the domestic cup for the first time in 12 years.
Craig McLeish's side emerged from the group stage to set up a knock out tie against Rangers and Carr insists the Buddies are up to the challenge.
"The gaffer has touched on it quite a bit," the 21-year-old said. "Just drilling it into us that it is ours to lose and we're not going to give it up easy.
"I've spoken to the lads about it and they said that that final was one to remember. Hopefully we can do the same.
"I've never played at Ibrox so really looking forward to it. I've watched on the television, it's an unbelievable atmosphere so hopefully we can we can get a result.
"As a player, you want to win trophies and I think we've got a chance and it's a good chance.
"We've started well in the cup and took it into the league form and we are on a bit of a high at the minute so hopefully we carry it on."
St Mirren boss McLeish plays down Rangers' poor startpublished at 11:59 BST 14 August
11:59 BST 14 August
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Premier Sports Cup holders St Mirren go to Ibrox with confidence, but not because they are anticipating vulnerability from Rangers, insists head coach Craig McLeish.
The Paisley side have started the season with two Premiership victories after topping their cup group, while the hosts are yet to pick up a win in four games under Derek McInnes.
However, McLeish is not reading too much into early form as he prepares for the last 16 tie.
"Taking away Rangers' situation, we have to go into any game confident that we can win it and that's what we're going to do," he said. "There's no good time to play Rangers or Celtic away from home.
"People will talk or there'll be noise about what they're doing at the moment, but they're still a very good team, a very good outfit, well-coached, well-drilled and have some real top quality players that can hurt you any moment.
"You can't go into it thinking that they're vulnerable or whatever. They're a very good team.
"But at the same time we've brought a group of boys together here who don't go anywhere with any sort of fear and you have to find the balance of it and not leave yourself exposed."
In three league meetings with Rangers last term, St Mirren suffered two narrow defeats after an August draw at home.
McLeish was at Ibrox on Thursday to watch McInnes's team exit Europa League qualifying after a 1-1 draw with Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok, with home supporters in a furious mood.
"That stuff's always there," he said of the booing at full-time. "I experienced that here as well, any time you lose a game or moments aren't going well for you. All it takes is one goal, one result and everyone's back feeling good.
"Rangers have such a strong group of players and they'll continue to add to it throughout this window.
"There's never a time where you go and they are there for the taking. You have to prepare for them as best you can and not take your eye off the ball."
Numbers already adding up for McLeish and St Mirrenpublished at 14:51 BST 11 August
14:51 BST 11 August
Mark Jardine Fan writer
When sociologist Alvin Gouldner wrote in 1955 that "human action can be rendered meaningful only by relating it to the contexts in which it takes place," I'm confident he had the opening two weekends of the 2026-2027 Scottish Premiership in mind.
Context is everything, pulling in multiple directions.
In Falkirk, bruised by key player departures in the transfer window, St Mirren were presented with an opening away fixture that could have been worse.
In facing St Johnstone, freshly promoted yet leaning heavily on those that sealed the Championship, as an opening home opponent, the Saints were smiled on by an algorithm that last year had totaalvoetbal pioneers Motherwell visit in the same weekend.
Yet, in presenting these favourable arguments there was also danger.
Harsher assignments may well have lower chances of success, but greater opportunity for confounding expectations.
A late 1-0 loss to Celtic on opening day in Glasgow last year resulted in no points, but indisputable proof this was another iteration of Stephen Robinson's St Mirren capable of battling richer opponents to the very last.
A 1-0 loss to Falkirk or St Johnstone this season as a rookie manager seeks to establish himself and his ideas... chaos.
In balancing not getting carried away with making sure appropriate credit is given for two hard-earned victories, it is the details that matter.
Two league wins from two for Craig McLeish and his side. Two clean sheets. Two penalties, one saved, and one scored.
Three league goals for Killian Phillips already, relishing life as a 10.
Eight league debuts. Three young Scots (possibly four) in starring roles.
Six and a half thousand Buddies being treated to full-blooded, front-footed, head-up football from a youthful squad with more to come.
Watch St Mirren sneak past St Johnstonepublished at 18:28 BST 9 August
18:28 BST 9 August
Media caption,
Watch all the highlights from St Mirren's 1-0 win v St Johnstone in Scottish Premiership
Watch all the highlights from St Mirren's narrow 1-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership as the Buddies continued their winning start to the new league season. Available to UK users only
'Frustrating watch' but St Mirren 'moving in right direction'published at 12:52 BST 9 August
12:52 BST 9 August
St Mirren fans, we asked for your views after Saturday's 1-0 Scottish Premiership victory over St Johnstone.
Here's what some of you said:
Eddie: A good result however we rode our luck and it was not a very convincing performance to be honest but six points two games is a great start.
Tony: What a great start to the season, never saw it coming. I think what we have found out is we have signed some really good players and that Jake Young has to start every game, his energy and desire causes all sorts of bother for the opposition. Long may it continue.
John: I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. Delighted with the three points but so not convinced by the performance. For long spells it lacked a cutting edge and urgency, and I wonder how we would have coped if the Perth lot had scored their penalty at 0-0.
Simon: A closely fought competitive game. Both sides played good football and made ( and missed) chances. We scored our penalty, they missed theirs, fine margins but delighted the Buddies edged it.
James: Saints won the kind of game you have to win to push up this league - tight with few clear cut chances in which defences dominate. Six points from six is a great start.
Paul: Great result with good play but frustrating to watch at times. We're definitely going in the right direction. Still some transfers needed.
Chapman hails 'massive' six points from opening league fixturespublished at 10:25 BST 9 August
10:25 BST 9 August
Martin Dowden BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
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St Mirren goalkeeper Jacob Chapman insists taking maximum points from their opening two Premiership games "sets the tempo" for the season after they overcame St Johnstone 1-0 at home.
Killian Philipps' second-half penalty was decisive after Chapman laid the foundation with an earlier spot-kick save from Jamie Gullan.
The win leaves Craig McLeish's side top of the table on six points following a strong opening to the campaign.
"It's massive," the Australian told BBC Scotland. "That was the goal for these two games. The manager was driving that into us this week.
"Stay top of the table for as long as you can. Show everyone how good we are.
"We have a top, top group here. We fully back ourselves to do that.
"Now we've just got to build on this and keep going."
No-one at St Mirren will be getting carried away but the opening to their league season is in stark contrast to having to come through a relegation play-off last term.
The former Huddersfield stopper, who signed a two-year deal to join this summer, believes the strong start will stand them in good stead heading into their Premier Sports Cup tie against Rangers at Ibrox next weekend.
"It's nice to do our first game of the season at home as well, but we need to go and do it there [at Ibrox] as well," Chapman said. "We fully back ourselves to go and play our type of football there and be strong.
"It doesn't matter if we play Rangers or Celtic at home or away.
"It's what we're about and we'll go there with full confidence and belief and be as strong as we can."
St Mirren 1-0 St Johnstone: What McLeish saidpublished at 17:36 BST 8 August
17:36 BST 8 August
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St Mirren manager Craig McLeish: "Delighted for the group, a really good, hard-fought win. A lot of our performance was good, we just had to add a bit more intensity to our performance in the first half.
"We were quite comfortable without troubling them too much. We stepped it up a bit second half. We got away with one when Jacob makes a fantastic save for the penalty.
"Then we convert our own penalty, so it was fine margins. Games are going to be like that for us and we have to show that fight and resilience. Our energy and how we pressed at the end, we could have scored a couple on the counter, that was really pleasing.
"We have to be horrible to play against. Two clean sheets sets us up well for that. The attacking bit, a few bits didn't quite click in the final third to create real, clear cut opportunities. When we counter attack, we do it at speed and we look dangerous.
"Those are standards that we set from day one of pre-season. How quickly do we get back into shape, everyone doing it and joining in. We want to be really good at the basics and not get bored of that.
"The running, energy and desire. We want to be fit and strong and relentless this season against whoever we play. We have to keep those standards really high. We did it last week and lived up to it again today.
"It helps with the belief in each other. I've said to the boys I confidence them. Last season, we had two horrendous play off games - even the emotion about it, there were so much nerves when we stepped on the pitch.
"I'm still using that as fuel, I don't want to be involved in that. We've got a massive journey ahead of us and we have to keep building. Six points out of six is a great start."
St Mirren 1-0 St Johnstone: Have your saypublished at 17:10 BST 8 August
17:10 BST 8 August
St Mirren made it two wins from two in the new Scottish Premiership season as Killian Phillips' second-half penalty proved decisive in a tight encounter with St Johnstone.
St Mirren v St Johnstone: Team newspublished at 19:08 BST 7 August
19:08 BST 7 August
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St Mirren's Declan John is available following a hamstring injury. Ryan Mullen (thigh) has resumed training, while long-term casualties Keanu Baccus (Achilles) and Jonah Ayunga (cruciate ligament) remain sidelined.
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari expects to have a full-strength squad available.
McLeish not worried about Phillips futurepublished at 14:14 BST 7 August
14:14 BST 7 August
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St Mirren manager Craig McLeish isn't worrying about the future of Killian Phillips even though he admits he could lose the midfielder this summer.
The 24-year-old scored both of St Mirren's goals in their 2-0 win over Falkirk last weekend and transfer speculation has begun to swirl around the Republic of Ireland international as a result.
As things stand Phillips is under contract with the Buddies until the summer of 2027 after the club triggered a one-year extension earlier this year.
But McLeish admits Phillips may wish to move on sooner.
"If he keeps playing like that [against Falkirk], we know there's going to be interest," McLeish said.
"And we know that he's probably at the stage of his career now that he's looking for his next step.
"If that comes now, then fine, great for Killian. And if we get him for the next six months or for this full season, then we're delighted with that.
"Part of our club model is to develop players and move them on. I'm not saying that time has come for Killian but undoubtedly he's going to have interest. I can't sit here and worry about it.
"We need to make sure we have plans in place if Killian, or anyone, moves on."
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