St Mirren manager Jack Ross was delighted for his players after the emphatic win over local rivals Morton on Tuesday night lifted them out of the Championship relegation zone.

But he has warned them to guard against complacency after dragging themselves off the foot of the table through sheer hard work and togetherness.

If they can maintain those qualities, he sees no reason why his men won’t pick up the required points to achieve what seemed impossible just a couple of months ago; safety in the division.

“The way things have panned out this week and with us moving up in the league, it has been a well-deserved reward for the players,” Ross said.

“But they understand that they still have a long way to go to make sure that we don’t end up back occupying those positions.

“For the effort and the character that they’ve shown in the last few months though, I think it’s great that we’ve managed to fight our way out of those places and we did it in style on Tuesday night.

“I’ve stressed to the players that it is not job done, but I don’t really need to because they’ve understood for a while what we have to do to stay in this league and so far, they have done it.

“They also know that they have got four games to go, and they need to maintain their performance levels.

“If they can do that then we will give ourselves a good opportunity of picking up enough points to see us ok.

“With the situation that we’ve found ourselves in, it’s remarkable to be at this stage now where we are alive and kicking.

“To have our destiny in our own hands is amazing, but we don’t want to put all that effort in and then don’t make it count over these last few games.”

The fixture list has hardly been kind to Ross’s men, with their last five games, including Tuesday’s win over Morton, comprising of visits to the top four teams as well as a solitary home match against Raith Rovers.

It would be a schedule that would bring most managers, never mind those in the midst of a relegation battle, out in a cold sweat. But Ross is relaxed about the run his men face, with complete faith in his players to rise to the big occasion.

And after winning at Cappielow, one of the toughest venues in the league, it's hard to argue with him.

“I felt before Tuesday night that we could go anywhere and get points, and the fixture list doesn’t really bother me,” he said.

“In a league like the Championship at this stage of the season, it doesn’t really matter who you play, they are all difficult games.

“Every team still has something to play for, and we have a group here at the moment who believe they can go to any ground and win the game.

“Falkirk’s need for points, they could argue, is just as great as ours. They want to secure their place in the play-offs, and finishing second in the league is a big incentive.

“They have experience of being in the play-offs recently, so they know the importance of finishing as high up the league as possible.

“They have done well against us this season, so it’s something we want to put right, but we know we will have to be at our best and show the same performance levels that we have done over the last couple of months.”

“We like the big games, the big crowds and teams who will come on to us, I think that’s when we are at our best.”