St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin believes his players have given themselves a great chance of clinching a place in the top six of the Scottish Premiership.

The Paisley side's 1-0 victory over Ross County leaves them four points clear of seventh-placed Dundee United and six clear of St Johnstone, who have a game in hand.

Saints travel to Ibrox to play Rangers on Saturday and then finish their pre-split fixtures with a trip to face Hamilton.

And Goodwin believes they will need to win at least one of those matches to guarantee their highest league finish since 1985.

He said: "We'd have loved to have played better but it's about the result. That was our 11th game in something like 32 days and there were tired legs out there.

"For the boys to have put in that effort is great credit to the group. St Johnstone are capable of winning all three of their remaining games which would put them on 42 points so we still need one more win to guarantee the top six.

"We're not resting on our laurels but we've put ourselves in a fantastic position. If you'd offered me this at the start of the season we'd be delighted."

County manager John Hughes praised his players' second-half performance, when they struck the crossbar twice and had another chance headed off the line.

But he warned his side would need to be more consistent in the games ahead.

He said: "In the first half we weren't at it. I was bitterly disappointed after what we gave against Celtic in terms of effort and getting about people.

"We were second best, that's why we shook it up. We were hanging in there first half so I made subs, had a better focal point up front and put more legs in midfield.

"We had the better second-half chances. The first bit of football we played Jordan White had the header and it was a great save. My frustration is the first-half performance because we're better than that."