| Opposition | Celtic Games | Forum |
NAME: St Mirren Park
ADDRESS: Love Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, PA3 2EJ
CAPACITY: Approx. 11,000.
CELTIC ALLOCATION: Unknown – Laidlaw Scott Stand (West). Access from Greenock Road.
RECORD VICTORY: St Mirren 0, Celtic 7, 3 November 1962
RECORD DEFEAT: St Mirren 4, Celtic 0, 1 October 1898
DIRECTIONS
BY CAR: Greenock Road is most easily accessed from Junction 29 of the M8. Follow the signs for Paisley and you'll find the stadium is on your left. Access to the stadium is just after the BP Garage.
BY BUS: Any bus going to Paisley stops at the town centre. From there its through the cross, down Gilmour Street and under the train station… (see below)
BY TRAIN: Paisley Gilmour Street is just a short walk from the ground. Head out of the station on the opposite side from the town centre. Follow Old Sneddon Street onto St James Street. Turn right at the roundabout onto Greenock Road and follow it down to the stadium. You can alternatively follow Old Sneddon Street round the ring road to the next road on the left… Love Street! But its likely to take you to the wrong end.
PARKING: St Mirren themselves suggest parking on Greenock Road and the adjacent side streets like Murray Street and Clark Street for away fans.
WHAT TO EXPECT
To enter the stand at the top and have to walk down to your seat. Obviously you have to walk up the outside stairs first. Crazy.
To be in the biggest of the four stands!
A bit of a racket at times due to the close proximity of Glasgow Airport on the other side of the M8.
The stadium not be there much longer! St Mirren are looking to sell up and move on to clear off debts. Estimates place their new stadium costs at Greenhill Road at £8m. Selling Love Street as a supermarket would raise around £10m, while selling it for houses would only raise £4.5m. So its all down to those at the planning department of Renfrewshire Council!
The Stadium to be referred to by St Mirren as St Mirren Park, despite the fact that virtually everyone else calls it Love Street!
SAD TRIVIA
St Mirren started life playing at Shortroods where they played their first game in 1877 – beating Johnstone Brittania 
Die hard St Mirren fans will claim that their rivalry with Greenock Morton is as big as the Old Firm, with soapdodger comments aplenty. Although it should be noted that these two rivals technically played the first night time game all the way back in 1890 when Cappielow (Morton's home) was lit up by the power of oil lamp!
During the 1908-09 season, Love Street was closed for two weeks after the SFA punished St Mirren for plenting the referee with ash and stones after he disallowed a goal for offside. But the most interesting part of this was the fact that St Mirren's William Key was sent off for jumping into the crowd and giving a supporter a kicking after he'd been getting abuse throughout the game! And we all thought Cantona was a new thing! A second supporter was chased by Higginbottom in the 1917-1918 season, but he was let off without a supension due to the lack of players during the war years!
Love Street was the scene for one of the most dramatic final league days in history in the 1985-86 season. Celtic travelled there knowing that even issuing a good humping of St Mirren may not be enough to snatch the title away from Hearts. But still the bhoys went about their business, winning the game 5-0. But the biggest cheer was reserved for Dundee's Albert Kidd, how helped Celtic out by scoring the goals that defeated Hearts and sent the title Celtic's way on goal difference.
The Paisley Daily Express Stand (the East stand when not sponsered by the local paper) is the newest of the four stands, having been completed just in time to allow St Mirren to be promoted to the SPL for the 2000/01 season. They only stayed for one season however, but did have the dubious honour of being the team Celtic beat to clinch the title that season (on their way to a treble). A Tommy Johnson goal was all that stood between the teams on that day.
The North Stand Enclosure is another of those done up former terracings. The view from there can be rather dodgy due to the pillars holding the roof up. Along with the main stand they're both looking rather old and past their sell by date now, so its of little wonder that they're looking to sell up.
TIM FRIENDLY PUBS
The Wig & Pen on St James Street opposite the court (hence the name). You'll pass it if you follow my directions from the train station. Definite Tim shop. Not the biggest establishment you'll find, but plenty of atmosphere when there's a Celtic game and generally a friendly bunch. The landlord is tough but fair. And likely to take the piss out of you at the first opportunity! Jukebox has a good selection to cater for all except Wet Wet Wet fans. Its web site can be found at http://www.thewigandpenpaisley.co.uk
"Get yersel down the wiggy boys! Not a bad establisment that I have drank coca cola in on more than one occasion"
– Laurel Bhoy
Any more??? (Do we even care this time?!)
PUBS TO AVOID
The Croft on North Croft Street just off Old Sneddon Street. Its a hun shop.
Any more???