St Mirren have started the 2023/24 season in the Scottish Premiership very impressively. The usual suspects, Celtic and Rangers, are top. But with the Saints in the hunt for third place, talk of European football returning to St Mirren Park next season is starting to get louder.
Third or fourth place would be enough to see St Mirren get into the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds. But could the Saints do better?
Stephen Robinson is the Scottish Premiership @GlensVodkaLLG Manager of the Month for August 2023.
— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) September 1, 2023
Well deserved, gaffer! #OurStMirren #COYS
What do the bookmakers think?
In the latest Scottish Premier League betting, Celtic are the favourites at 2/9, with Rangers at 3/1. The football odds on St Mirren shocking the world and winning the title are 475/1. To highlight how little chance the Saints are given of breaking up the Glasgow monopoly, you only need to look south of the border. In England, Manchester City are 4/6 to win the title. But their closest rivals – Liverpool and Arsenal – are Premier League title odds of 9/2, not 475/1. That would all suggest that the bookmakers don’t see St Mirren finishing any better than third. But that would still be a major achieveme
Previous UEFA Cup Expeditions
St Mirren first played in Europe in the UEFA Cup in the 1980/81 season. The UEFA Cup was what is now known as the Europa League. It was a competition that the teams who finished in the immediate places behind the league winners entered.
In the 1979/80 season, the Saints finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Their campaign didn’t last long, with the team getting as far as the second round. In the opening round, St Mirren defeated IF Elfsborg 2-0 on aggregate. But in the second round, the Saints lost 2-0 on aggregate to Saint-Étienne.
The club again qualified for the UEFA Cup in the 1983/84 season, this time, losing to Feyenoord 3-0 on aggregate in the first round.
In the 1984/85 season, a fifth-place finish in the table was enough to again qualify for the UEFA Cup. On this occasion, the Saints equalled their best run by getting to the second round. In the opening round, St Mirren defeated Slavia Prague 3-1 on aggregate. But in the second round, the Saints again came unstuck, losing to Hammarby 5-4 over the two matches.
Appearing in the now no more Cup Winners’ Cup
More success was to follow when St Mirren won the Scottish FA Cup in 1987, defeating Dundee United for their third and last to-date Scottish FA Cup final win. The win saw the Saints qualify for the European Cup-Winners Cup in 1987/88.
Again, the Saints couldn’t get past the second round. This time, they defeated Tromso 1-0 on aggregate in the opening round. But they then lost 2-0 over two legs to Mechelen of Belgium in the second round.
Most infamous European adventure
Perhaps St Mirren’s most infamous foray into Europe came in a little-known competition called the Anglo-Scottish Cup. This was a competition that saw the winners of the English and Scottish FA Cups playoff for the Anglo-Scottish Cup.
St Mirren and Coventry City were supposed to play for the cup over two legs. The first leg at Highfield Road finished 1-1. But to this date, the second leg has never been played.
A poor crowd in Coventry for the first leg, and a lack of appetite to ever organise the second means the tie remains unfinished. Perhaps the Saints can claim the win on the away goals rule?