St Mirren Retain Premiership Status
A trophy winning season for the Saints ends in victory in the playoff Final
St Mirren won the Premiership playoff final tonight at home to Partick Thistle, with captain Marcus Fraser scoring the only goal in a tight 1-0 win after the sides had drawn 1-1 at Firhill in the first leg.
The result means St Mirren avoid becoming the first team in Scottish football history to win a major domestic trophy and be relegated in the same season. Had they gone down, they would have been only the fourth club across the UK to do so, and the third in the last 15 years.
A Continued Stay
The playoff final victory ensures St Mirren’s current top-flight stay will continue into a ninth season. It is the second time they have survived through the playoffs, and 2026-27 will be the Buddies’ 106th top-flight season, compared with just 24 spent outside the top division.
In 2018-19, St Mirren stayed up thanks to a penalty shootout victory after a 1-1 aggregate draw against Dundee United. Their trajectory has largely been upward since then, although this season brought their lowest Premiership finish since that campaign.
Their playoff involvement came on the back of three consecutive top-six finishes, something only St Mirren, Celtic and Rangers achieved across those three seasons.
In my analysis of their annual report, I highlighted that although St Mirren made a £727,000 profit in their latest accounts, that was almost entirely driven by UEFA income from European football.
The current season will likely produce a reduced profit or a small loss, perhaps leading to a cut in costs next year. Had they lost tonight, that cost-cutting may have been more pronounced given the drop in income in the Championship. The winners of the Championship receive £790,000, while St Mirren earn an SPFL payment of £1.7m for finishing 11th in the Premiership.
Given the Saints have become accustomed to the higher prize money paid to teams in the top half of the division, the £478,000 received for winning the League Cup in December will have been a welcome, unbudgeted bonus.
St. Mirren avoid becoming the sixth side in Scottish Football history to face relegation after three consecutive top six finishes
Thistle Wait Continues
