Striker Alex Greive is looking up the table rather than over his shoulder after St Mirren’s vital victory over St Johnstone at the weekend.
Greg Kiltie’s winner seven minutes into the second half at McDiarmid Park was enough to move the Buddies eight points clear of the relegation play-off position with just three games to go of the league season.
Saints now have their two remaining home games of the campaign, starting with Dundee this Saturday and Livingston next Wednesday.
They then visit former boss Jim Goodwin and Aberdeen at Pittodrie on the final day of the season.
Greive revealed the squad feel relieved their Scottish Premiership status is all but secured for another campaign as they now target a second successive seventh place finish.
The forward, who signed an 18-month contract with the club in January from Birkenhead United, exclusively told Express Sport: “It was so good to get three points again.
“It’s been a while since we won a game, so we can breathe a sigh of relief and move on now.
“We knew there was going to be a bit of pressure, but the way we looked at it was the pressure was on them.
“They needed to win to keep fighting.
‘We came in knowing the pressure, but we didn’t let it take too much of a thought in our minds.
“There’s definitely a lift of the pressure.
“We can look up the table now and try and get as many points as we can before the end of the season.
“That’s all we can do, so that’s our target, for sure.
“We’ll definitely try our best. Seventh is a realistic target that we can get and we’ll do everything we can to do it.”
The New Zealand international attacker started up front with fellow striker Curtis Main on Saturday in Perth and both of the forwards were singled out for praise by Saints gaffer Stephen Robinson after the game.
The pair led the team press from the front for the full game, as the Buddies took maximum points under the former Motherwell boss for the second time, with a much improved performance than in recent weeks.
And the 22-year-old, who says he’s loving life in Paisley since his arrival at the beginning of this year, has revealed his relationship with Englishman Main off the pitch helps them dovetail well on the park.
Greive said: “Me and Maino (Curtis Main) complement each other well.
“He’s a big a target man, so I can run off him.
“We get along well off the pitch too, so it helps when you’re on the pitch.
“We work hard together, so it’s good.
“It’s been good. I’ve loved it since I signed in January.
“It’s obviously been tough. We were on a good run when I first came in and that was really good. We’ve had a tough run now, but I’m still loving it.
“The boys are really good and the team coach is really good, so I’m really enjoying it so far.”
