St Mirren manager Danny Lennon says the absence of Steven Thompson will give someone else in his squad the chance to shine.

The striker will miss the Buddies’ trip to face his former club Dundee United on Sunday, having been sent off in the midweek Scottish Cup win over Ross County.

"Steven is a vital player for us and he was looking forward to going up against his old club," Lennon said. "But it presents an opportunity for another player to step up.

"It's an exciting time of the season and we are delighted to be going into the last seven games of the season two points behind a place in the top six.

"We have a very good record against Dundee United in my time in charge here and we will go there hoping to keep that record intact.

"We are playing against a side who outside Celtic are the in-form team. United for me are a team that produces very good youngsters, they continually make the later stages of the cup and that's the kind of thing we are trying to achieve."

St Mirren qualified for the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup through their midweek win in Dingwall, and Lennon says his side must build on the victory in their forthcoming league match.

"Any type of win is very important and that's what we strive for on a weekly basis," said Lennon.

"The lads did terrifically well against a very strong Ross County side, especially after playing an hour with 10 men, we now need to try and build on that win against Dundee United."