No Friday farewell for Love Street

The TV company had previously tried to have the game moved to Monday, January 5 but decided against this when Saints asked them to reconsider. However, when Saints objected to their plans to move the game to the afternoon of January 2 - a holiday in Scotland - they weren't quite so considerate and pressed ahead, only for their plans to be thwarted by police, who refused to give the switch their approval.

The news will come as a relief for those Saints fans who had already arranged to attend the game on January 3, which is when the match will take place. Setanta will, however, screen the first game at the new, currently nameless, stadium on Greenhill Road against Kilmarnock on January 31.

Meanwhile, builders Barr have been granted a building warrant for the construction part of the new stadium development, meaning the move is has taken another step closer to becoming reality. The next stage will see them obtain a safety certificate and SPL licensing approval, with the keys set to be handed over to Saints in the middle of December.