STEVEN LAWLESS hopes the Firhill feel-good factor and work ethic will carry Partick Thistle to Premiership safety.

Alan Archibald's side head into their clash with Ross County on Saturday eighth in the top-flight standings and seven points clear of second-bottom Motherwell.

Victory in the Highlands would put the Jags within touching distance of retaining their place at this level for a second consecutive season.

With four teams fighting it out at the foot of the table, every point is crucial in the remaining five games as the battle for survival gets set to go down to the wire.

And Lawless is determined Thistle will continue their impressive purple patch in the Highlands and take a major step towards avoiding the drop.

He said: "We know County are in good form, but we were going to have to play them at some point. It is first up for us and we are confident going up there that we can get the victory.

"We owe them one because they have taken six points from our last two games. we didn't play particularly well in either match, so hopefully we can rectify that.

"We are just looking to win every game we can, we are high in confidence and we are playing well.

"Hopefully we can get a good result and open up a bigger gap. We have got a bit of breathing space, but we need to keep this run going. It is in our hands and we just need to keep getting as many points as we can."

After finding themselves out of luck and out of form as their dreams of a top-six finish evaporated, Thistle have hit their stride in recent weeks to give themselves a cushion at the foot of the table.

As County and Motherwell have put together impressive runs, the Jags have seen off Dundee United, St Johnstone, Inverness and the Steelmen, and they could yet launch a bid to finish seventh.

And forward star Lawless is pleased to see Archibald's side laying the foundations at the back as they have kept five clean sheets in their last seven Premiership outings.

He said: "It has been a real team effort. We have been working hard all season and everyone has been pulling in the one direction, so it is good that we are getting the results to back that up now. Long may it continue.

"We are putting in a shift, we are hard to break down. If we hadn't conceded some late goals earlier in the season, we would have been further up the table.

"We have rectified that recently, so hopefully that continues and we can push further up the table.

"We feel we can keep a clean sheet in every game now and that is a plus. It is a team effort.

"Sloppy goals can come from anywhere on the park. It is about everyone putting in the effort. The defence has been brilliant, but we have all played our part.

"I feel I am playing defensive winger at times! If you don't concede, you don't get beaten."