St Mirren midfielder Conor McMenamin insists the Paisley club are not ready to rest on their laurels just yet, despite securing a place in the top six for a third season in a row.
Stephen Robinson’s men pipped Hearts and Motherwell to the top half in dramatic style with a 3-2 win over Ross County last week.
Now, they have an outside chance of reaching Europe again, but they will need to overcome a nine-point gap to overtake either Aberdeen or Dundee United.
If they finish fifth and the Dons finish in sixth, then they will also need Celtic to win the Scottish Cup to take a place in the Conference League qualifiers next season.
They take on Rangers at the SMISA on Saturday and, after beating them twice already this year, they are aiming to make it a hat-trick.
McMenamin said: “It’s not like we are on holiday or just going into these last five games happy where we are.
“We have set the bar high by being consistently in the top six, we got Europe last year and obviously we want to get it again this year.
“It’s obviously going to be tough, but we have to believe that we can win all these games.
“We know how tough it is going to be, but let’s see where it takes us.
“We go into every game thinking we can win it, and it will be no different on Saturday, we have already beat them (Rangers) twice this year, so to beat them three times in a year would be a tremendous achievement.”
It has been a frustrating season on a personal basis for McMenamin, who missed the first three months after undergoing knee surgery in the summer before suffering another setback in December when he suffered a calf injury.
He made his return to the squad for the Ross County game and came off the bench to help the Saints clinch their place in the top six.
He said: “I’m delighted to be back in contention, it’s been a really challenging year for me personally, being in the gym a lot and watching the boys every week.
“I’ve struggled with it to be honest, especially after the second injury which was a lot more mentally challenging than the first.
“I was really low at points, obviously with my knee I knew a time frame for my return and I could just go in and tick off the weeks, whereas when I tore my Achilles there was no finishing line in sight, it could have been three months, it could have been six months, it could have been a year, I was getting different messages from different specialists.
“I did find it tough, but all the lads and the physio and the gaffer were all brilliant with me.
“So to be back for the Ross County game, it was such a big day for the club, and to see the reaction from the fans to us getting into the top-six again was brilliant.
“It just shows you that a club like ours can be top-six for a third year in a row, only us, Celtic and Rangers have been in there every year for the last three years, so that just shows you the consistency levels that the manager has brought to the club.”
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