Want the latest Scottish sport news sent straight to your inbox? Join thousands of others who have signed up to our Record Sport newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jeroen TESSELAAR has risked the wrath of St Mirren with an astonishing attack on Paisley and the club’s supporters.

The Dutch defender branded the Renfrewshire town a “s**thole” – and claimed Buddies supporters swear non-stop as well as neglecting their families in favour of football.

Tesselaar, in his second spell at St Mirren Park, said he will quit Scotland this summer – and moaned about having had his nose broken three times.

The 26-year-old also lifted the lid on the mind games behind the design of the club’s away dressing-room, and revealed how he relished playing at Ibrox and Tynecastle.

And Tesselaar, a keen photographer, said he plans to develop a professional career as a lensman once he quits football.

The former AZ Alkmaar and Telstar ace joined the Buddies in 2011, then had two seasons with Kilmarnock. He returned last summer and has since made 27 appearances for Gary Teale’s side.

Saints slumped to a 3-0 loss at Aberdeen on Saturday, leaving them level on points with rock-bottom Motherwell, who have a game in hand.

(Image: PA Wire)

Tesselaar has now deepened the gloom with his outburst in Dutch sports magazine, Voetbal International.

The defender declared: “Paisley is a s**thole. It is a little town with a bad reputation and high unemployment.

“Fans in Holland will go to the stadium, watch the match and then go back to everyday stuff. But football is much more a part of people’s lives here.

“That is certainly the case for St Mirren’s fans as Paisley has little else to offer. People here prefer to spend the little money they have left on the club than on their families. Their passion drips from the stands.

“It is not the case that fans in Scotland sing throughout the matches – they swear above all. But the game means a lot to them, I understand that.

Paisley bites back at Jeroen Tesselaar's 's**thole town' remarks: We want to be the 2021 City of Culture

“Scottish football is all about scrapping. I have suffered various head injuries – I’ve had two front-teeth broken and had my upper lip split so badly I needed over 30 stitches.

“At Kilmarnock last season I had my nose broken three times in quick succession. It was left crooked after a clash of heads in the Inverness game.

“The same thing happened against Partick and when we played them again I got elbowed. After three breaks my nose became weak and I sought a solution.

Watch the Monday Football Show..

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

“The mask Kilmarnock gave me didn’t fit properly or protect me, so I went to a lab in Milan that makes these items to measure. They have pictures on the wall of their clients, including Diego Maradona, Fernando Torres, Petr Cech, Andrea Pirlo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“I sent the lab one of my shirts to hang up among all the famous names.

“My mask was light and a perfect fit – I wore it for months before getting rid of it last summer.

“Thankfully I’ve not had any more head injuries since then, but in Scotland the danger always lurks around the corner. The games are very physical.

“The tempo is crazy, so high, and back passes are not appreciated – it is attack after attack for 90 minutes.

“This summer I’ll have spent four seasons in Scotland, and that will be the time for me to take a new step. I play football partly for the adventure and I fancy discovering a new country.

“Maybe Poland, Greece or the US. You can find good things anywhere – every country has a charm of its own.

“St Mirren Park is just six years old, nice but nothing special. But you find funny things about it, such as the away team’s dressing-room. The coat-hooks have been deliberately fixed high up so our opponents feel smaller. The place is mostly dark, and that seems to give us a psychological advantage as well.

“Sadly we’ve not made so much use of that this season. But our football is quite attractive, at least by Scottish standards. If we can stay up this season we can be satisfied, given the club’s budget.

(Image: Alan Harvey/SNS Group)

“Rangers’ stadium appeals to me the most out of the two big temples of the Scottish game. Ibrox breathes football and the three-tier stand is impressive.

“Celtic Park is more modern – and more of a standard ground to my mind. But Hearts’ Tynecastle is the stadium I like best of all.

“It is old and cramped but so atmospheric with the fans almost on the pitch.

“I had a trial with St Mirren last summer and the then manager, Danny Lennon, wanted us to play like Barcelona, yet all we did was run for three days. My teammates were left in pain but I came through it with a smile.

“That was thanks to the genes I’ve inherited from my father Dick, who has run in the Moscow and New York marathons – finishing second and 11th.

“The manager gave me a contract on the strength of my ability to run, before I’d even kicked a ball. Scottish football is a different world to the one I’d been used to.

“When I stop playing football I will take things further with my photography. I hope to make it my next career – it won’t be easy, you have to be very good but I will do all I can to reach the required level.

“St Mirren’s club photographer invited me to take some pictures at a reserve game but I didn’t get anything out of it. I prefer to picture wildlife – sports photography does not tempt me.”