ST Mirren manager Jack Ross spoke of his immense pride in his players as they moved to within one point of the Championship title with victory over Brechin City.

The Paisley men knew there was a chance for them to clinch promotion yesterday providing they won and Livingston failed to beat Saints’ arch rivals Greenock Morton.

And after Kyle Magennis put the Buddies ahead after just seven minutes, and Thomas O’Ware put Morton into the lead early on down in West Lothian, Saints fans had their party poppers at the ready.

But in the end, the celebrations had to be put on hold as Livingston sealed a late 3-2 win to all but secure their spot in the Premiership play-offs.

There were no signs of disappointment from Ross though as he knew, after their 22nd win of the season, they had one hand firmly on the trophy.

“We understood today that all we could affect was our own result. Livingston are a really good team, so I had no real strong belief that they wouldn’t win because their results this season have been outstanding,” Ross said.

“It was just about our focus being on this game because if we had dropped points and they [Livingston] had won, then all of a sudden things would’ve been closer again.

“I know it’s difficult to imagine with everything else going on but our focus was on this game and that’s why I’m happy with the players.

“They know they’ve taken another big step forward. There was a bit of apprehension about our play today but that’s to do with the expectation that was on the players’ shoulders so for me, there’s no frustration in terms of performance, just pride the players have managed to produce another win in these circumstances.”

Ross named an unchanged 11 despite them only managing a point against Inverness up in the Highlands last weekend with a 2-2 draw.

But his faith was rewarded almost immediately when Magennis fired in a powerful shot in the seventh minute after picking up an Adam Eckersley throw-in.

News of Morton’s goal in Livingston shortly after had Saints fans in full voice, but Brechin almost put a pin in their party balloons when Jordan Sinclair smacked the cross bar with a long-range effort just before the half-hour mark.

Harry Davis almost put the visitors 2-0 up just before the break as he got his head to a Magennis free-kick but the shot fell safely into Brechin keeper Graeme Smith’s hands.

The only real chance in the second half fell to Saints’ Cammy Smith who got on the end of a Danny Mullen ball only to hit the side netting.

As smart phones pinged across the ground with news of Livingston’s eventual victory, what had been a very loud group of 2,000 travelling St Mirren fans went slightly quiet, knowing they would have to make another big journey east to Dundee United on Tuesday before they could truly celebrate.

Ross’ side will require just a draw to seal the title at Tannadice, but the match will be far from easy as the Terrors look to keep their hopes of making the play-offs alive after losing 3-2 on the road at Dumbarton.

However, Ross urged his players to enjoy themselves and remember how different things were when they were staring relegation to League One in the face last season.

Ross added: “It’s another hugely difficult game for us, they all are in this league.

“It’s only probably in Scotland where you can get a team who have already been relegated giving you such a hard game.

“The players should look forward to Tuesday. They’re going to have to deal with some expectation but it’s better than being where we were last year.”