Gus MacPherson insists St Mirren will not become complacent now the threat of relegation from the Scottish Premier League has been lifted.The sorry plight of Gretna, who have been docked 10 points after being placed in administration, means St Mirren can look forward to a third successive season in the SPL.

Even if Gretna avoid going out of business they are doomed to the drop as they trail second-bottom St Mirren by 21 points.

With relegation no longer an worry, MacPherson insists the Buddies still have plenty to play for during the rest of the campaign, starting with Saturday's SPL match against Hearts.

He said: "Our players have got to be professional because there's always something to play for.

"In any game, professional pride is the most important thing for any player when they take the pitch.

"People will say relegation is no longer an issue but we've still got our pride to play for, a lot of them are playing for their futures and that in itself is motivation.

"My players are not daft and they know that. They know what' at stake and they know what they could achieve this season, there is still plenty to play for. So that's where the motivation is as we want to win games.

"They won't switch off as they know what our standards are and the standards they've set for themselves and their professionalism. We won't allow that to drop."

MacPherson feels Gretna's demise proves that club's must have the correct infrastructure in place if they are to progress.

He said: "There is always hope if someone comes in with money but you need to look at an infrastructure of a football club.

"That's the most important thing. That was the one thing which impressed me when I came to St Mirren, the youth structure and the amount of time and effort that was put into that with the board and the youth coaches.

"Through that infrastructure we've been able to get half a dozen into our first-team squad four years down the line.

"For lessons to be learned there needs to be an infrastructure there but hindsight's a wonderful thing."

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