Gallagher, who notched the first of the rout, insists the win is meaningless if the Buddies fail to continue it into the league, starting this weekend away to Livingston.

Livi gaffer Mark Burchill was an interested spectator at St Mirren Park on Saturday, and Gallagher believes Saints will have given the Lions gaffer some food for thought.

He told Gazette Sport: “Hopefully it is the turning point for the league form. It is the first time this season where we have really put a number of goals beyond a team and kept a clean sheet.

“We will just need to go into training this week with a clean slate.

“We just need to really focus on the game to come and its more of a reason to focus and get it right.

“Its Livi next week and hopefully if that’s a win then we can start to relax and enjoy our football and get some points on the board.” Saturday had been billed in some quarters as a potential banana skin fixture for St Mirren. However, Ian Murray’s side showcased a professionalism unrivalled by other displays this campaign.

Gallagher added: “The early goal settles the team down and puts us in the driving seat early on.

“It would have been easier for us to come off the game, That has maybe been the issue for us when we have scored an early goal, we’ve allowed the team we are playing to dictate the pace of the game.

“We did well, we knew what we had to do. Dunfermline are a good side, they have put some really good results together this year so it was good to get a really hard-working performance from the boys.”