Firstly a Happy New year to all SMISA members and all the best for a great 2024.
The end of the year on the pitch was disappointing with us taking 7 points out of a possible 24. At the start of the month we were in 3rd place and now find ourselves 5th going into the winter break, let's hope the players can use their time away to recharge their batteries and go again.
Mid December saw the SMFC AGM and I'm sure many members who have seen the recent accounts posted will be tremendously encouraged by the performance from the Club. An improvement of nearly £1.5m v last year is no mean feat and testament to the hard work of the Board, Keith Lasley and all the team behind the scenes.
On the playing squad front the Manager has hinted that new faces are needed and to achieve that we will need to do “some wheeling and dealing”. Thierry Small has returned to Southampton, we wish him well and thank him for his service. The next 4 weeks promises to be interesting times and we await to see who will appear in the famous Black and White stripes.
The new 3rd strip was launched in December to both great feedback and demand. This was the strip selected by SMiSA Members following a fantastic unique competition back in August 2023. The winning design was submitted by Rhys Proctor. This type of unique opportunity is one of the many benefits of being a SMISA member. For his efforts Rhys was rewarded with appearing with some of the first team at the kit launch, as well as getting his own kit from SMISA, well done Rhys!.
It saddens me to report that Colin Bright is moving to pastures new, Australia to be precise! Many will be aware of the superb efforts Colin has put in to develop the match day entertainment programme, making it one of the best in Scotland. An unknown fact is that Colin and his family spend most Fridays nights preparing for the “Bung a Baw” half time competition, true dedication to the cause. Colin has sacrificed much of his personal time and money to provide the opportunity to Young Saints fans to make the most of their match day. In recent times both the club and SMiSA have contributed to help Colin enhance the experience. To mark the effort and dedication Colin has shown to the club he was presented with a SMiSA special recognition award by SMiSA board member, Jim Cumming, at the recent game v Kilmarnock. All at SMiSA wish Colin well in his adventures down under!
Finally a reminder of our members meeting on Tuesday 9th January, doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The SMISA board looks forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. With a packed agenda it promises to be a great night!
Hopefully this month sees a few new faces to help with the push to get to 4th place or better by season end and that by my next update we see ourselves in the next round of the Scottish Cup, Queen of the South will be no pushovers and will raise their game against us.
Enjoy the game
Alex