St Mirren boss Gus MacPherson has snapped up Livingston defender Chris Innes on a one-year deal. "It has been well known that we have been trying to strengthen the defensive area of the squad," MacPherson told Saints' official website.

"Because of the situation at Livingston Chris became available and we feel that with his experience and his determination to prove to people that he is still capable of playing in the SPL that he will be a really good signing for us.

"There were plenty other options open to us, most of them going down the route of bringing in foreign players.

"But I feel that with this being such an important signing in a vital area that we were better going with someone that we know and trust."

MacPherson added: "I played beside Chris for a couple of years at Kilmarnock when we was really just starting out to make his way in the game.

"He has fantastic attributes to play the game at the highest level, is very good in the air and very competitive, basically he is a no-nonsense defender.

"We'll have to wait and see if he will be in the running for Sunday's game against East Stirling.

"We'll only have one training session before Sunday's game so we'll need to assess things but I would say right now that it is doubtful that he will be involved."