DAVID MACGREGOR hopes he will finally have a reason to celebrate at the end of the season as he targets play-off success with Queen's Park.

The Hampden defender will be part of the Spiders squad that makes the trip to Arbroath tonight aiming to take Gus MacPherson's side a step closer to a League One berth.

After missing out on the title as Albion Rovers clinched the silverware, QP must now face the side they finished five points ahead of in the fourth-tier table.

And MacGregor knows there is no margin for error for MacPherson's side as they look to return from Gayfield with a positive first-leg result.

He said: "Don't get me wrong, the play-offs are great occasions, but I haven't had that many good results over the years. I have enjoyed playing in them. The first year they came in, I was at Morton and we played Peterhead.

"Prior to that, it was two up and two down, and we finished second quite clearly. We ended up in the play-offs and Peterhead beat us 1-0 up there in the second leg and we missed out on promotion.

"A couple of years ago, I was at Stranraer when Albion Rovers beat us on penalties in the final. You have to do well to qualify for the play-offs, but then your season comes down to playing well in the four games.

"One bad half or one mistake can cost you. You need to be on a run and carry the momentum. We have got four games to try and get promotion, so hopefully we can get off to a good start tonight."

Queen's head into the clash on the back of a 2-0 loss to Clyde at the weekend as they rounded off their regulation League Two campaign on a low note.

MacPherson again shuffled his pack for the Bully Wee clash as he looked to ensure all his Spiders stars were ready and raring to go for the Red Lichties showdown.

Experienced stopper MacGregor made his first start since the meeting with East Stirlingshire in February at Broadwood and insists QP won't be too disheartened at the defeat.

He said: "We made a lot of changes on Saturday because the manager was looking to rest some boys and give others some game time - and that was the bigger picture.

"All the focus is on Arbroath and making sure we are fit and match sharp. The result was disappointing, we always hate to be beaten, but the Arbroath games are the bigger ones for us.

"From where we were last year, it has been a great season for us and, overall, it has been a big improvement.

"We have to be happy with that, although we were disappointed not to win the title. We have another shot at promotion now and we are looking to win the play-offs.

"We will go all out to try and win them. The next game is always your biggest and it is a really important one for us at Arbroath."

With the second leg at Hampden to come on Saturday, QP will head to Gayfield aiming to put themselves in pole position for a final berth.

East Fife or Stenhousemuir await the victors, and MacGregor reckons it will be an open and attacking tie this evening.

He said: "I would expect both teams to go for the win.

"With Bobby Linn and Simon Murray there, they have certainly got a goal threat, so we know we will need to be at our best to get anything out of the game.

"Arbroath is always a hard place to go, but it is a challenge we are looking forward to and, if we play to our potential, we are confident we can get a result."