Craig McLeish wants win at Falkirk to kickstart St Mirren’s bid for survival

Interim manager Craig McLeish hopes guiding St Mirren to victory at Falkirk can be the spark for a successful survival bid.

The 2-1 win kept the Paisley side out of the William Hill Premiership relegation play-off place on goal difference from Kilmarnock.

Barney Stewart gave the hosts a 15th-minute lead after a Miguel Freckleton error. Freckleton atoned quickly with an equaliser within three minutes before Liam Donnelly secured three points for Saints with a second-half header.

McLeish said: “We needed something like that to hopefully spark a bit of confidence and momentum going into the rest of the season.

“It was a good reaction from the players after conceding the goal in the manner we did but I take responsibility for that goal because I’m asking them to be braver, to play a little bit more out from the back.

“We need to do better in that moment but I’ve said to the players that goals don’t change games – our mentality does.

“And if our mentality changes at that point and we stop trying to play, then the game can change massively.

“It helps that we scored so soon. I thought we handled ourselves very well throughout that period.”

McLeish highlighted set-piece specialist and goalkeeping coach Jamie Langfield as the mastermind behind the goals.

McLeish joked: “I’ve not heard the end of it from Jamie since the final whistle!

“It’s things we’ve worked on like Liam’s goal and getting in front of people. The same for Miguel’s goal.

“The boys have bought into everything so well. When it comes to fine margins like that, we need to be the best we can possibly be.

“We’ve given so much information to the players over this last 10 days or so. They’ve implemented it and you get the rewards from that.”

McLeish is expected to make way for a permanent replacement for Stephen Robinson, who recently took charge at Aberdeen, during the international break.

“I’m just happy that I can contribute,” McLeish said. “I’ve got the club’s best interests at heart.

“I want to, in any way I can, help pull us out of this situation.”

John McGlynn believes Donnelly’s winner should have been disallowed for a foul on Filip Lissah as Mark O’Hara delivered the free-kick.

The Falkirk boss also felt St Mirren defender Jayden Richardson could have been penalised for handball in the penalty box.

“The second goal, we’re very aggrieved with,” said McGlynn.

“We believe Filip is blocked by Alex Gogic, who then goes offside and is interfering with play. It should’ve been a free-kick for us. Then there’s a handball in the second half.

“Being honest, I don’t want penalties for that but the harsh reality is we’ve all got them given against us.

“There’s no consistency. I don’t moan about referees often but we definitely didn’t get the rub of the green with decisions.”