FREDERIC FRANS hopes back-to-back wins are the springboard to Premiership safety for Partick Thistle.

Alan Archibald's side moved 13 points clear of bottom-of-the-table St Mirren with victory over Inverness Caley at as they finally recorded successive Premiership wins this term.

After taking maximum points from their Firhill clashes with St Johnstone and Caley, the Jags have made significant strides towards retaining their top-flight status for another season.

And Belgian stopper Frans will make the most of the domestic break as he returns home for a few days before attentions turn to the trip to Aberdeen on April 4.

He admits there is a Firhill feelgood factor after a Steven Lawless strike earned Thistle a huge win at the weekend.

He said: "It was a massive win for us, it's back-to-back victories and another three points towards safety.

"Winning two games in succession is something which has been spoken about a lot and we have been close on a few occasions, but we never quite managed it.

"The longer it went the more people spoke about it and it does play on your mind. It's all people have been talking about, so it's good that it's out the way and we can focus on getting as many points as we can.

"With other teams around us winning it was a big result. We obviously have to concentrate on ourselves, but with Ross County and Motherwell also winning, we could have easily been dragged back into things.

"We kept being clawed back at the bottom and not gaining on those above us, so it's great to be on a good run and hopefully it's just the start for us.

"Everyone says we are unpredictable and that's true at the moment. We are winning against all the big teams and we have lost against teams around us. That is two very good sides we have beaten and that gives us great confidence."

Since losing to Ross County at Firhill earlier this month, Thistle have taken nine points from four games as they earned a terrific win at Tannadice and bounced back from defeat against Ross County in Dingwall with their successive home triumphs.

And Frans is pleased the Jags rearguard have been able to play their part in helping Archibald's side find some form in recent weeks.

"That's three clean sheets in four games, which is great as a defender," he told ptfc.co.uk

"It gives me massive confidence. Inverness had a few chances and we could have done better on occasions, but I thought the defence did well and restricted them.

"It's a big boost for the defence. It shows if you keep a clean sheet than you can grab a win like [on Saturday]."