Thompson is nearing the end of his contract at Burnley

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon is interested in Burnley's Steven Thompson but concedes the former Scotland striker may be out of his wage range.

"He's certainly on the shopping list and I've made the proper inquiries but I think it's going to be outside our grasp," Lennon told BBC Radio Scotland.

"With Burnley losing their manager, there could be a new lease of life for Thommo. He scored the other day.

"If we don't get him this time, let's see what happens in the summer."

Paisley-born Thompson has been a regular on the Burnley substitutes' bench for the last two seasons and is out of contract in May.

Lennon may have been banking on the 32-year-old negotiating a pay-off to terminate his Turf Moor deal prematurely.

But the ex-Dundee United and Rangers forward came on late to score his first league goal of the term in Saturday's 4-2 win over Sheffield United.

And that close-range strike came in the first Burnley game since the sacking of manager Brian Laws.

Lennon would like to add to his squad in January but will need to offload a few players first.

Steven Robb has left the club after his contract expired and the midfielder played as a trialist with Dundee at the weekend.

"It's all about balancing books, so we have to look at the current squad and see if we can free up some money," said Lennon.

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