Over last weekend and the beginning of this week Danny Lennon took his squad to Northern Ireland for a three match tour.

The side faced Ballymena United, Crusaders and Derry City in a space of four days - by his own admission Danny reckons it was a bit of a tight schedule but overall a very worthwhile exercise, both on and off the park.

He said, "We were delighted with the quality of the games and the opposition that we faced - they certainly gave us a good test.

"We felt that with everybody living in each other's pockets for five days that it was a great exercise as one of the key areas of us going to Ireland was to build upon the great team spirit and the character of the boys.

"To be honest it just confirmed what I felt before we left, I felt that within them it was great that the amount of new boys who had came in and had gelled with the experienced players already here.

"We could see things coming across that we picked up from the three games. In the Ballymena game we created a good number of opportunities, then in the Crusaders game we went with a side made mostly up of youngsters - and one or two of them came through with flying colours, more so wee Ally Love who has impressed me over the pre-season with his attitude.

"We had a really good test on the Tuesday evening in the game against Derry City but within that I could see that the games were maybe coming a wee bit too quick for us. It would have been good to have had the games spanned out a wee bit better than they were as we could have got out a wee bit more quality.

"In the Derry game we were a bit off the pace but I was pleased with the overall shape of the team defensively. It was then that it started to hit home that everybody knew their key roles and their responsibilities within the team.

"I would also like to thank every one of the fans who made the trip over to Ireland to watch the games. They were a credit to themselves, the Club and the team."

The team came to the stadium to train today and Danny confirmed a new face within the squad.

He said, "We have a player in on trial that we are looking at, he is Greg Cameron who was with Dundee United.

"If we got one or two injuries on the left hand side of the field then the balance of the side would have us a wee bit short. So we are looking in these key areas at the minute and we'll have a look at the boy.

"In the overall terms of strengthening the squad, if the right player comes along and it tickles our fancy as we believe that he would bring added quality to the squad that we have got, then we'll be looking to do something."

A few players picked up knocks in Northern Ireland but Danny confirms that most of them are nearly ready to train again.

He said, "Michael Higdon and Steven Thomson were back in at training this morning. Craig Dargo is still feeling a bit of tightness and Steven Robb could be available by tomorrow.

"The swelling in Paul McQuade's ankle is going down and the good news is that he doesn't have any ligament damage, it is just a matter of getting rid of the fluid.

"I would expect them all back at training by no later than Monday."

Yesterday the official website reported that David Barron has been offered a two year contract extension. The Saints gaffer reckons the defender is the type of player that we need to keep at the Club.

He said, "David Barron has been offered an extension to his contract and I know he is speaking to his representative at the minute.

"We need players of David's quality at the Club. We need that youthfulness and we know the experience that he has for such a young lad.

"The qualities that young boy possesses and his attitude exceeds everything that you could expect of a footballer. The way he handles himself both on and off the pitch, he is a credit to both himself and St Mirren Football Club.

"Hopefully he will get over his wee niggling injury soon as he is a big, big player for us."

Tomorrow the Club are hosting an Open Day at the stadium and the training complex at Ralston. At 11:30am Danny will lead the players out onto the St Mirren Park pitch for a training session and bounce match to let the fans see how things have progressed over the pre-season.

He explained, "I'm really looking forward to the open day tomorrow and I hope there are a lot of filled seats in the West Stand.

"We'll put on a little technical session to show the fans the way that we work and we'll also go in and make a few pointers during the game.

"I think it is good for us to put our ideas across within the role of a game of football and let the fans see what we are doing."

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