BY KYLE GUNN

St Mirren boss Oran Kearney has hailed his side’s persistence as they head into the final day of the season still dreaming of automatic survival. 

Two late goals from Kyle McAllister and Kyle Magennis gave the Buddies a vital three points against Hamilton on Monday night. 

That means if Saints can better Hamilton’s result against St Johnstone when they face already-relegated Dundee tomorrow, they will avoid the play-offs.

READ MORE: St Mirren 2 - 0 Hamilton Accies: Buddies take play-off race to final day

And the Northern Irishman is looking for one last push to ensure that the campaign draws to a conclusion on Saturday.

He said: “The levels of resilience would give me confidence. If you had taken our team from January into Monday night’s scenario, then I’m not sure they would have dealt with it and got over the line. 

"But, with the momentum we have built with the new players, there is a different feel about the place. We have had a few late goals in recent weeks. At first it is good luck but when you do it for three or four games in a row, and you continually show that mindset, then sometimes you have got to attribute it to something a bit more than luck.

The Gazette: Kyle McAllister sends St Mirren on their way to a vital three points over Accies on MondayKyle McAllister sends St Mirren on their way to a vital three points over Accies on Monday

“That’s is the bare minimum at this point in time. I want to be greedy. I want to do it on Saturday. That would be perfect. But even if it doesn’t go our way on Saturday - if we get the win and Hamilton get the win - I still want us to go into the play-offs in good form. If we can get that result on Saturday, we would be going into the play-offs with one defeat in eight games. Make no bones about it, I would love the season to finish on Saturday, but I want a similar performance to the ones we have had in the last seven weeks that would leave us in good shape going into the play offs.”

Kearney has pin pointed the 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in February as the game where he thought the Buddies could retain their Premiership status. 

Saints were ahead twice against Derek McInnes' men before being pegged back but after new signings were initiated in the hotel the night before, the gaffer knew then that the squad was good enough to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. 

He continued: “It was the game away to Aberdeen when everything clicked. We went up the night before and there was a really good feel about it that. All the new players did their initiation songs and it really felt for the first time that there was a real togetherness there. We then went out on the Saturday and matched it up with a big performance. We probably should have won the game but took a point and from then on it’s snowballed."

READ MORE: Kyle McAllister desperate to help Saints beat the drop

Elsewhere, Kearney admits he is sweating over the availability of Gary MacKenzie for tomorrow's must win clash, adding: "We are just monitoring Gary in relation to the bang he took against Accies. He had double vision and things like that so we will just have to keep an eye on that one to see how he fairs. At the time I thought it was reckless. It’s a hard one to call.”

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