Last updated : 29 February 2008 By Ed_ScottishFitba
Gretna may have surprised a few in the Scottish football world with their 4-2 win over Kilmarnock on Wednesday but not St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson. He knows what the Dumfries and Galloway side can do and feels they possess enough ability to put together a decent survival run. That scenario, of course, brings the threat of relegation closer to Paisley despite an 11-point cushion between them and the bottom club. MacPherson sees Wednesday's result as evidence Gretna have not given up the ghost just yet. He said: "I think everyone outside football thought the relegation was dead but I don't think people within it have thought that. Everyone respects Gretna. I've not seen anyone being disrespectful to Gretna. We've only played them once but on the occasions I've seen them they try to play the game in the right manner. They've had their difficulties, they've lost a lot of players but they've brought in some talented young players. They can pick up points between now and the end of the season. They've got a cause and their result against Kilmarnock has strengthened their cause."
St Mirren are currently 10th in the SPL but MacPherson believes his side can end the season in a higher position. He said: "I wouldn't say a win over Kilmarnock would end the relegation issue because I don't know what Gretna are going to do. There's a gap but we're not looking that way. That was the frustration at the Falkirk and Inverness games that we couldn't close that gap on teams above us because we believe we could have done that. We've been looking above us because we've got a couple of games in hand. That gap can be closed."
Next up for St Mirren is Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday, and the second bottom club will be desperate to wipe away the memory of the loss of a vital three points in midweek. Kilmarnock's season has been affected by the sale of key players and a lengthy injury list but MacPherson remains full of praise for the job counterpart Jim Jefferies has done at Rugby Park. He said: "Jim's done a fantastic job at Kilmarnock, with the resources they've had. They've lost some important players and when you lose goals out of your team that's the hardest thing to replace. They've lost that consistently in the last couple of years starting with Kris Boyd, then Steven Naismith and now Colin Nish. It was well documented the problems that's caused and they've also had their injuries to contend with. But he's still done a fantastic job with the resources they've had."
