BY KYLE GUNN 

ST MIRREN midfielder Ian McShane insists one win could kick-start the Paisley club’s season. 

Oran Kearney’s men face Steve Clarke’s Kilmarnock side at the Simple Digital Arena this afternoon as they try to halt a run of seven games without a victory.

And McShane reckons Saints are ready to go on a run of positive results, with some positive signs being shown before the international break.

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He said: “We’ve worked hard since the last game. We've had a lot of time to work on stuff and now we’re more prepared. His (Kearney) training is hard, it’s more intense. I think there is a better team spirit now. All the boys are together now, we’re all pushing in the same direction and we want to push up the table.

“We just need that bit of momentum to get going and then we’ve got three games against teams around us. We can hopefully be looking at seven points out of nine and moving up the table.”

The former Ross County man believes the St Mirren players can take confidence from recent performances against Celtic and Hibs, even though those matches only earned the Buddies one point.

McShane added: “We played well that night (against Celtic) and, even against Hibs here, I thought we were unlucky not to take something from the game. It’s fine margins just now.

READ MORE: Oran Kearney looking forward to getting back to league business

"We’ve proven that we can match Celtic, so we think why can’t we do that with other teams that come here and pick up the win?

"If you start a game well and you lose a couple of quick goals, it’s hard to pick yourself up.”