Imrie hopes for starting role

Dougie Imrie hopes he has fired himself back into manager Danny Lennon's plans after netting his first goal for St Mirren.

The winger came off the bench to put the gloss on yesterday's 3-1 win over Dundee in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, having also been named among the substitutes for last week's defeat at Hearts.

Imrie - who joined Saints from Hamilton in January - admits he was frustrated at falling down the pecking order but is now eyeing a starting slot at Ross County midweek.

He said: "It was nice to get a goal, it's been a while coming.

"You're always disappointed not to start but the manager picks a team that he thinks will win the game.

"You've just got to get on with it. We are in it together and I was just delighted to come on and get the goal.

"It gives him something to think about now for Tuesday night at Ross County."

Steven Thompson grabbed a double - either side of a Ryan Conroy penalty for Dundee - before Imrie opened his goal scoring account for Saints late on.

The victory in Paisley halted a run of six straight SPL defeats for the Buddies, who headed into the match just a single point above bottom side Dundee.

Imrie said: "The fans are obviously going to be tense after six games in a row without picking up any points and lingering at the bottom of the table.

"My own opinion is that I think it's a false position but you've got to win games and we hadn't been doing that.

"We had played well in some of the games and just hadn't got the breaks.

"This game was hard - but we dug in and got the second goal and the third killed the game.

"We were delighted to get the three points and hopefully we can move up the table now."

Imrie believes Saints now have the confidence to take at least a point from the visit to Dingwall on Tuesday.

He added: "It was good to get the win and it ends that losing streak.

"We don't want to be in that position again so hopefully we can go on a run now.

"It will be difficult at Ross County, they are a good team and they've done well this season.

"But we've got players that are as good as theirs and if we go up there and apply ourselves the way we did against Dundee, I'm sure we can get something from the game.

"It would be nice to get the three points."

Dundee - who had Colin Nish sent off when the match was still goalless - may have returned to Tayside empty-handed but boss Barry Smith believes there were some positives.

He said: "There was a lot there that was pleasing and a lot for me to build on and look forward to working on.

"We've still got a long way to go but we have come a long way."