Stevie Mallan believes that there was a determination from the players to get the win over bitter rivals Morton on Tuesday night.
The Buddies ran out as 4-1 victors at Cappielow, after a fine second hand performance which brought three goals.
21 year-old Mallan scored the key goal in the 46th minute to put the side 2-1 up. Further goals came from John Sutton and Gary MacKenzie to make it four wins out of the last five league matches.
Mallan told stmirren.com in the aftermath: "We got a bit of hassle off the fans after the 3-1 defeat last time out, and deservedly so - it was a terrible performance.
I think from the position were in, in the league table we knew we had a game in hand and if we got the win it would've taken us off the bottom two which we've been chasing for a while now.
"I think at one point we were 17 points adrift and for us to turn that around and get into the position we are in now, its been a fight. The new gaffer coming in has given the boys a new lease of life and installed the confidence back into us in the way we play."
The midfielder's goal came less than a minute after the restart and he confessed he was delighted to get on the scoresheet in a thumping derby win.
It was amazing," he said.
"Obviously getting a goal in the derby is something you want to do. Especially after the last game [against Morton] we got robbed with a one each draw at home, and the last game at home we deserve to lose.
"That was up there with the results we've had this season especially with the form that Morton are in at home. The performance we put in and the goals we scored were amazing."
The hard work doesn't stop though with the Buddies travelling to Falkirk on Saturday to face Peter Houston's side. The Bairns sit in second place in the Ladbrokes Championship, but Mallan believes that Tuesday's win can help them towards a positive result which would help boost their survival hopes with just four matches remaining.
It will take us into good stead against Falkirk. Its a big pitch and a good pitch to play football on. They're obviously quite high up on the form table just now so i'm really looking forward to the game.
"After the draw at the weekend, I think we've taken our frustration out on this game with a brilliant performance and getting four goals away from home. Goal difference may come into play when it comes to the last couple of games of the season. So to get a few more goals has been brilliant."
The youth academy graduate also admits it was perfect to give something to the fans after what has been a difficult season.
He said: "It was amazing to give back. You can see tonight with the derby, the weather's not been the best and in the away end there's no shelter so it's good to see a good number out.
"We wanted to say thanks to them because they've been our 12th man and we've needed them. They've came out week in week out, home and away in their numbers. The boys really do appreciate it, and hopefully they'll keep coming out until the end of the season".
