St Johnstone midfielder Murray Davidson is confident they can continue on the ascendancy if they remain tight at the back.

Saints have kept two consecutive clean sheets after bringing Liam Gordon and Callum Booth into their back four following a 4-0 defeat against Motherwell.

The Perth side lifted themselves off the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership, three points above Hamilton and Hearts, following victory at Tynecastle last weekend.

They will move up another place if they beat St Mirren in Perth on Saturday.

Davidson said on St Johnstone's website: "It's a strange one because although we went through bad spells earlier in the season I actually thought – even in games we lost – there were positives to take from games because at times our play was good.

"We were just conceding soft goals and over the past few games we've managed to stop that and you see the difference it's made.

"If we do what we know we're good at then I'm sure we'll be absolutely fine.

"There is no doubt it'll be a tough game and St Mirren have players that cause a threat but we just need to look after ourselves, play well, and we can get the win."

Saints also take on Hamilton and Ross County before the winter break and manager Tommy Wright knows it could be a crucial period.

"We're on a decent run after a poor start and it's because of that start that we find ourselves a bit behind just now," Wright said.

"We need to make sure in these next three games we get as many points as possible because if we have a good December it'll make our lives a lot easier when we return from the break.

"Of course we're not happy with where we are and we've got a lot of work still to do but hopefully these next three games will go a long way to helping us get to where we want to be."