St Mirren captain Stephen McGinn is looking to extend his contract in Paisley.

The 29-year-old midfielder, made skipper by Jack Ross after signing from Wycombe, has insisted that he is settled at St Mirren and is open to signing a new deal with the club.

Talks are only in the opening stages, but McGinn would like to commit his long-term future to the club.

“There have been so many games in the run-up to Christmas and over New Year that it has made it difficult to sit down and talk but I am definitely really happy here,” he said.

“I am enjoying my football. I am loving life at St Mirren and hopefully we can get something sorted out. I am really happy at the club and hopefully it is something that we can get sorted out.”

Meanwhile, McGinn is delighted that Lewis Morgan will remain at St Mirren until the end of the season.

The winger played well in the 1-0 win over Inverness on Saturday afternoon and McGinn believes that having his future secured will enable the Scotland under-21 internationalist to focus purely on his football.

McGinn also praised St Mirren for ensuring they have the services of the player as they strive to push their way back into the top flight this season.

“I am delighted with the club’s stance on it,” he said. “He is so crucial to us and I am glad for him that it is all done. I think you could see once he had made his decision that he was going to Celtic than he was relaxed and back to producing some top drawer performances.

“We will enjoy having him here until the end of the season and make the most of still having him here.

“The club’s record of bringing through young players and moving them on is as good as anyone’s in the country. You come here, it is a good training ground, good stadium, good facilities and good coaching and I am proud to be part of a club that is always looking to give young players a chance.”

St Mirren opened up a six point lead at the top of the Championship courtesy of their win at the weekend coupled with Dundee United’s collapse against Falkirk.

And McGinn admitted that there was much celebration in the St Mirren dressing room when news came through of the result.

“It is nice,” he said. “I am not going to lie and say you don’t get a lift when you come in and see their result. I did get a shock but at the same time it is so competitive that if you have an off day then teams are good enough to hurt you. For us, there is another goal and a clean sheet so we are not complaining.”

St Mirren’s performance was deserving of the three points against Inverness on Saturday, albeit the Highlanders had a few chances of their own, particularly in the opening 20-minute period after the interval.

For McGinn, though, it was about seeing the job out to ensure that St Mirren took full points as they focus of maintaining the number one spot.

“That is what happens when you don’t get the second goal,” he said. “It gets nervy and teams make you work hard for the three points.

“But we targeted this quarter, the same set of fixtures as the first one, to come through it with a strong set of results and we have done that. We keep chalking up wins.

“We are in a good place at the minute and it is about trying to keep our focus and keep on coming up with the wins. Confidence is high and I think that is probably reflected in the way that we are playing.”