This piece is from yesterday's Buddies Briefing newsletter, which is emailed out at 6pm every Thursday. To receive our full, free St Mirren newsletter straight to your email inbox, click here.

Record attendances, improved season ticket sales and gate receipts up by almost a third.

It's hardly the catastrophic fallout suggested in some quarters when St Mirren decided to put fans first and keep three stands for all home matches.

The board's decision to reduce allocations for Celtic and Rangers last year caused some furore amongst rival supporters with taunts of limiting income for little reward.

As things have turned out, it has been quite the opposite.

Rather, the club has bounced back in the balance sheet this year albeit with a loss in the region of £57,000 noted.

It's not exactly record profits to shout about but considering a £1.6million loss the year previous and it has to go down as a terrific turnaround.

In the figures, there are serious signs of growth in the club as a business with the player trading model yielding £395k and commercial income rising by £200k.

Throw in the vastly improved gate receipts income from £1.2m to almost £1.6m and it all contributes to a huge increase in turnover for the year from £4.2m to £5.6m.

The current board has steadied the ship and work successes behind the scenes deserve as much credit as those on the pitch in the last couple of years.

And a hallmark decision from the board came in the form of limiting away allocations to one stand.

It was a bold move but one long requested, or demanded, by supporters.

With the figures to back it up now, it seems there won't be a return to increased allocations for Celtic and Rangers anytime soon.

Of course, results on the pitch have led to a natural increase in attendance too but the board have been sent irrefutable proof (to the tune of an extra £400,000) that the appetite and desire is there from St Mirren supporters when the stadium remains theirs.

Quite simply, there are no fans more valuable to be inside the stadium in Paisley every week than St Mirren supporters.

The board members have done their bit and the fans have responded with seismic turnouts extending to away matches.

With a break-even trading position expected for next year - and a well-researched and proper club strategy in place - the future looks very bright.

And most importantly for those regularly at the SMiSA Stadium, it looks black and white.

AND ANOTHER THING

Just to touch on the recent defeat to Ross County...if we must.

It was most certainly another case of an off night for the majority of the players in black and white.

Simply put, St Mirren didn't ever look like winning in Dingwall.

A penalty shout aside, and a decent one at that, it looked a match destined for a goalless outcome.

Jordan White's header was a sickener for the hearty travelling support - and a trip to Ibrox this weekend presents a major obstacle to a quick return to winning ways.

As I've said before, there is no need for major panic at this stage - after all the club remains in the lofty third spot.

However, a slight rejig might be required in personnel or tactics with the side looking a little bit figured out in recent matches.