If St Mirren are going to be Scotland’s best community-centred development club, as they aspire to be, then they themselves must develop.
For the Premiership’s so-called ‘smaller’ clubs, particularly those that are fan-owned, the headwinds have gradually been building. Their rising costs are not only fuelled by the sort of inflationary pressures that are also squeezing every fan on the terraces who, nevertheless, puts their hands into their pockets to buy their season tickets or to contribute monthly to the SMiSA pot, but by the largesse of clubs both north and south of the border who have the luxury of a wealthy owner to absorb their often astronomical losses.
To compete, let alone to thrive in such an environment, is an admirable feat. Last season, while the Saints struggled in the league and escaped relegation through the playoffs, they also lifted the League Cup and reached the Scottish Cup semi-final. Similarly sized, fan-owned clubs, Falkirk and Motherwell, both finished in the top six.
The landscape, though, isn’t about to get any more forgiving.
For the likes of St Mirren to remain sustainable concerns at this level - while putting a product out on the pitch that can entertain their supporters, yes, but crucially, also deliver results - their board recognise that a bold strategy is necessary.
That was why this week, building upon a core club strategy they set out three years ago, St Mirren CEO Keith Lasley decided that it was again time to communicate directly with the club’s fans, providing an unflinching account of the difficulties that the club faces, but also laying out a clear plan to overcome them, and for the Buddies to not only survive, but thrive.
The result was the ‘Our Progress’ document, the laying out of a step-by-step process that prioritises three key areas he hopes will see the club become the exemplar for others to follow – financial sustainability, player development and trading, and potential long-term growth.
"We set out our core club strategy early on in 2023, and that connects into this and sits at the core of decision-making and everything we are doing at the club,” Lasley said.
“That is going to continue to be the case.
“We have done a subsequent impact report, which is on the website, about 18 months down the line to see how we were getting on.
“The specific nature of this is we have tried to break it into three sections. We want to update on the macro football landscape and where we are as an industry.
“If you look over the border, the numbers are scary in terms of ownership propping up football clubs. It is becoming more the norm for clubs to lose significant amounts of money while they operate. As a fan-owned football club, we cannot afford to do that. We do not want to do that.
"We have been operating in a way where we have had a period of success on a break-even basis. That is no mean feat given the financial landscape and general inflation across the board on costs, whether that is utilities, national insurance, minimum wage increases, or keeping a stadium and training ground going.
“The purpose of this is to speak to our supporters for transparency on what we see as the challenges. We have a plan connected to a core strategy that is going to allow us to navigate those choppy waters. A key part of that is going to be through our own academy and trading more effectively."
The question at the core of the strategy document is simple enough – who do St Mirren want to be? As are the stated aims. But putting those into practice is a great deal more complex.
Almost every club at the very least pays lip service to the ideals of developing their own players through their academy and giving them a pathway to the first team, before hopefully earning their club a fair bit of money as they move on and further their career. But very few are able to consistently do it.
Lasley sees the potential for St Mirren to find an edge in that area, as well as in their recruitment - investing in the personnel and data that can hopefully more than pay for itself down the line.
“This is not something that has been spoken about overnight,” he said.
“With the board, we have seen the trends in football heading this way for some time. It is a testament to Stephen Robinson and the football staff that we had that period of success and punched above our weight in terms of what competitors can pay. We did that on a break-even basis. To do it and not lose any money across football is not an easy thing to do. We did buck that trend.
“But what we are saying is that it has got and is getting progressively harder because of cost-of-living implications. As a business, we are not immune to that. We are feeling the pinch across the board in all of our outgoings.
“We have been doing a lot of work connected to our core strategy of building up our academy and a better recruitment strategy.
“This is also about our identity. What do we want to be seen as?
“Now, listen, our revenue has grown 30 or 40 percent. It has been a fantastic few years for the commercial aspect. We are continuing to grow, but it is trying to keep up on the other side which is getting more difficult
“But there is what we can afford, which traditionally, might have been – with the greatest of respect – those sorts of journeymen from the lower leagues in England. But those players are looking for more now because of wage inflation driven from down south. If you look at the average losses in League Two and League One, it is unsustainable without ownership funding. That wage inflation migrates across the border because that was a primary area for us to recruit. It gets harder for us to afford.
“In any case, we want to be more than that. We want people to come to St Mirren and be excited about our young players coming through and seeing three or four out there pulling on the black and white stripes. We want to be known for bringing our own players through, trading effectively, and being the best development club in the country. That is our aspiration.
“Fans can connect with that. They do not feel as if they are coming along and it is just journeymen that they have no affinity with. We want to build a club and an identity that means something.
“We wanted this to be an ambitious document. We think we can do it, we just need to focus on the key bits that will allow us to do that. That is developing players and recruiting them smartly.
“That is where Gavin comes in, identifying people who can come into the club and accelerate that.”
That is Gavin Miller, a priority hire by St Mirren in the summer, headhunted from Motherwell to become the club’s Head of Recruitment. The bulging bank balance he and the recruitment team he was a part of have bequeathed to the Fir Park board speak a louder testament to the work he did there than any CV could, and make it plainly apparent why Lasley was so keen to have him as a key cog driving St Mirren in this new direction.
“When I first spoke to the management, I was really excited,” Miller said.
“I felt like we viewed things similarly. I felt like we wanted to challenge the status quo together and wanted to really push boundaries and try and be different.
“I don’t think anything that we have done at Motherwell over the years was unrepeatable. It is about having everyone aligned and going in the same direction.
“In the past, there may have been an element of short-termism. We really want to work and build something with Keith and the board to say: this is something that will stand the test of time, what we will deliver for St Mirren over three or four seasons, whatever it takes.
“With the strategy that we are trying to build, it is about that high-performing culture. That comes from having stability in the club and having processes in the club. We are not just signing a player because he might be viewed as a good player.
“It isn’t just about getting tried and trusted players with experience, though they have a place and we have good ones here. But there was no room for the younger players here because there was a 29-man squad in May with the oldest average age in the full league. That is just not sustainable.
“We feel like we are adding in exciting talent.”
As Miller mentions, alignment has been a watchword in the SMiSA boardroom over the close season. Where some fans may have seen the appointment of former Saints youth coach Craig McLeish as permanent manager after an interim stint last term as ‘the cheap option’, there was more to it than that, with his knowledge of the young talent in the St Mirren ranks and his willingness to promote from within - just as he was - a factor which gave him an edge.
As McLeish wants to play, so too will the academy, with the common thread of that established identity weaving its way right down and through the age groups.
"Fundamentally, recruitment is about understanding what the game model is,” Miller continued.
“How does a coach want to play? That is the first building block to any player trading model. The simple thought is just to get players under 23 or under 25 from a different market and just by the nature of playing them, it will work. That is not the case.
“It starts by really understanding what the coach wants to do. What are the specifics? How does the manager want his team to play? That is the foundational block to all of it. It sounds simple, but it is the part that gets missed a lot.
“With us, the manager wants to play progressive, possession-based football with a positive approach to the game that is exciting and dynamic. So, I need to find players that can embrace handling the ball that much.
“It is then: ‘okay, what are the key positions that we need? Can we then identify players through the data, through looking at key data points?’ If a manager wants to have someone that can run in behind, how do we go and find players that actually go and run in behind? And you also have to be prioritising and nurturing these qualities within the club too.
"St Mirren’s whole academy plays 4-3-3. Previously, there was a bit of a misalignment between the club and the first-team manager. I’m not criticising anyone by the way, St Mirren won a cup and had successes.
“But we now want to have a player trading model and a pathway for young players. We want to have a club where there is the potential to gain financial sustainability for tens of years through making smart choices, and that is what player trading can do for you.
“That is where it is important.”
What Miller - and Lasley - are both keen to stress though, is that there may be some patience required in the short term as the tweaks they are making to the club’s approach take effect, changes they are certain will bear fruit down the line.
Lasley has been around the block long enough to know that there are of course limits to the patience of the football fan, and that winning as they go is a requirement, but he is steadfast in his belief that this is the direction in which St Mirren must travel, modernising and adapting their approach while retaining the key elements that make the club what it is – the beating heart of its community.
"That is a key point,” he said.
“There are going to be bumps in the road, particularly with the introduction of more young players, albeit we think a talented group. The plan is to retain an experienced core of a team. Any team needs that experienced spine, and we are lucky to have that.
“But there is no doubt that bringing in your own young players and more younger players can lead to a bit of bumpiness. I hope people take from this that while that can be the case, there is a plan. There is a long-term plan with a real focus and drive to compete and continue to grow.
“The people inside the club - the board, myself, Craig, Gavin, and Allan (McManus) the Academy Director - are all ambitious people. We do not want to be here just saying things are hard. If I was a fan paying for my season ticket, I would be saying, 'What are you going to do about it?'
“This says: here are some challenges, here has been some challenges, but here is the plan and here is how we want to do it. Hopefully, this document can provide that roadmap through those bumps.
“Fans want to see a young, vibrant, exciting team with as many of our own academy graduates as we can and a style of football that is attractive. People want to see a team that wins. That will never leave football. We want to do it in a way we think reflects the club. It has a proud record of bringing through young players right through its history. We want to revitalise that.
“We also mention our community work. Being the best community-centred development club is important. Having local boys on the pitch while we are helping the local community matters.
“We want to be seen to have that identity off the pitch as well as on it. For us, the right way is producing our own, trading effectively, and having an exciting team, while off the pitch, making a meaningful impact on the community.
“If we sit here in a year or two and we have progressed on those things, I will be very happy."
