St Mirren chief executive Gordon Scott has thanked the club’s supporters for sticking by their team despite their horrendous run of form that sees them rooted to the bottom of the Championship.

In an update on the club’s website, Scott addressed several areas where great strides are being made off the park in Paisley, but on the park the misery has continued after Saturday’s home defeat to Dumbarton.

Jack Ross’s side will be looking to give the home support something to smile about this Sunday as they host Ayr United in the quarter-finals of the Irn-Bru Cup.

And according to Scott, the fans deserve great credit for their loyalty to the cause, and he hopes they will continue to place their faith in the new management team that has been installed by the board to pull them free from danger.

“It would be remiss of me not to mention the support we have received from the fans,” Scott said. “I know things have been very tough for everyone connected with the club.

“Trust me when I say it hurts even more when you are putting your heart and soul into trying to improve things every day only to be left disappointed on a Saturday.

“It has been a massive boost to both Tony [Fitzpatrick], myself and the other board members to receive the backing and support of every fan we meet.

“The positive feedback helps reinforce our absolute belief that we are heading in the right direction and will come out of this difficult period as a stronger club. The support for the team on a Saturday has been exceptional even when things haven't been working out.

“I'd urge you all to stick with Jack, James and the rest of the team as your support really does make a difference.”

While Scott thanked the St Mirren faithful for their support, he also recognised that their patience may not stand too much further testing.

With the new board also all St Mirren supporters, he says that they can empathise fully with the feelings of their fans as the fortunes of their football team have declined so rapidly.

But with Ross and his new management team in place, he believes it is only a matter of time before they are climbing the table again.

“We have had control for three months now and have been through an eye opening evaluation of where the clubs is right now and what is required to put it back where it belongs.

“There is much to be done, and for now it is a case of prioritising and progressing on as many fronts as possible.

“To say things have not gone as we would like on the football side of things so far this season would be an understatement.

“First and foremost, every member of the board is a St Mirren supporter and we are all hurting as much as everyone else, however it is vitally important that we all stick together through these tough times and come out the other side stronger as a result.

“Personally I have seen enough in the last few weeks both behind the scenes and on the park to have faith that we have the right management team in place to start moving the club forward on all levels.”

One of the core levels that Scott and the club as a whole are keen to develop is the St Mirren academy, with the establishment of a key pathway between the club’s youth teams and the first-team squad one of the top priorities for the board and the management team.

He added: “We have started to develop a long term strategy as to how the youth system will funnel into the first team with Tony at the forefront of developing this along with Jack, James, Allan and his academy team.”