STEVEN LAWLESS is confident Partick Thistle can take another step in the right direction next season as they look forward to a third straight top-flight campaign.

The Jags clinched their Premiership place with a 3-0 win over St Mirren as goals from Ryan Stevenson, Kris Doolan and Lawless clinched a deserved Firhill triumph.

With their berth amongst our 12 top-ranked clubs confirmed, boss Alan Archibald can start putting plans in place for the new campaign.

Lawless is one of a host of Jags stars out of contract in just a couple of weeks, but the forward is keen to commit his future to the club.

He said: "My contract is up [in the summer]. We were waiting to see if we were safe, so I will sit down with the gaffer next week, hopefully, and see if we can get something sorted.

"We have improved on last season and we feel we could have done better this time. Sometimes that happens and things go against you.

"If we can keep improving we can do even better next year hopefully. Even though we are doing well just now, I think the boys feel we have under-achieved.

"If we can keep the nucleus of the team and maybe add one or two, then I feel we could do a lot better."

Having earned the three points that pushed them over the line on Saturday, Thistle can now focus their attentions on seventh spot.

The Jags make the trip to New Douglas Park this weekend aiming to move within touching distance of Hamilton in the Premiership standings.

And Lawless is confident Archibald's side can continue their impressive purple patch that has taken them clear of the battle at the bottom.

He said: "We are six points ahead of Kilmarnock, so we have got a bit of breathing space there and, if we can get a result this weekend against Hamilton, then we are only two behind them.

"We are trying to catch them in seventh, so that is the aim for this weekend, to try and get a result and bring them closer to us.

"We are confident we can [go unbeaten] but we will take it a game at a time. The first aim was to get the result here and make us safe.

"We have got that now, so hopefully it will give us a bit more freedom to play. It is not that we have not been playing well, but hopefully the shackles will be off and we and do even better and get a result this week.

"We have been a little bit inconsistent this year and we felt we could have been a bit higher up the league.

"But that is the way it has happened, so we have to take it as it comes and look to win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season."

Thistle were worthy winners at the weekend as they put the beleaguered Buddies to the sword and eased to a comfortable Firhill triumph.

Three second-half strikes clinched the points and Lawless was pleased to play his part in the final third as he helped the Jags to safety.

He said: "It was good to get over the line and that was the most important thing. We were a bit frustrated at half-time. But we got the three points and that was the aim at the start of the game.

"I could have had the perfect hat-trick. I was a bit away with my header, but the shot with my left foot was blocked and I hit the one with my right, so it was good to get the goal in the end."