CONRAD BALATONI hopes it will be Firhill for thrills this weekend as Partick Thistle look to retain their Premiership status for another season.

Alan Archibald's side are on the brink of top-flight safety thanks to their superb 2-1 win at Ross County on Saturday as they continued their recent purple patch.

With just four games to play, the Jags are 10 points clear of eleventh-placed Motherwell and head into their clash with St Mirren knowing another triumph will be enough to keep them out of the relegation battle.

It took Thistle until the penultimate 90 minutes of action last term to avoid the drop as they beat Hearts 4-2 thanks to goals from Lyle Taylor, Gary Fraser, Lee Mair and Kallum Higginbotham.

And Balatoni is eager to give the Firhill crowd something to shout about when they host the Saints on Saturday.

He said: "A win would put us safe and we want to go out and get the three points to secure safety in front of our own fans. We did it last year at Tynecastle, so it would be nice to do it at home in front of everyone who has cheered us on this season.

"The fans have stuck by us through what has been an up and down season. We want to win every game between now and the end of the season and give them something to cheer about.

"We got a great result at County on Saturday and we believe that the next four games are all winnable."

While Thistle are on course to retain their Premiership place, it is not the only goal in the Jags' sights in the coming weeks.

Archibald's side are just five points adrift of seventh-placed Hamilton Accies, who make the trip to Kilmarnock this weekend on the back of their first win in 14 games after they beat Motherwell last Friday night.

Thistle finished tenth on their return to the top flight last term, and Balatoni hopes the Firhill side can secure a loftier league finish this time out.

He said: "In the split, you never know what is going to happen, but we feel we can go on a good run. That is what we are aiming for and we will see where that ends up taking us, and hopefully we can improve on last season.

"If that is eighth, great, and if it is seventh, then that would be even better. It is big for the club to finish as high as possible and the players want to aim as high as possible as well.

"We can still finish seventh this season and, once we are arithmetically safe, then we will see where we can end up."

It has been an encouraging few weeks for Thistle as they bid to finish the season on a high, with the Jags' defensive line playing a key part in their success.

Frederic Frans pulled Archibald's side level on Saturday with a stunning long-range effort before Stephen O'Donnell netted the winner.

And Balatoni is pleased to see his partnership with the Belgian stopper flourish. He said: "Freddie doesn't try shots like that often in training, it is usually me and I just shank them!

"It was a great goal. It opened up nicely for him and he hit it really sweetly. We have played well together recently and it is nice to get a few clean sheets.

"We are always talking about ways we can get better and we have got a good relationship. We have got good defenders at the club and there is competition for places across the team."