St Mirren and Partick Thistle playing off for high stakes

Partick Thistle and St Mirren meet again with a Premiership place on offer. Thistle previously trailed St Johnstone by nine points in the Championship, while St Mirren were three points clear of the relegation play-off spot in the top tier. Since then, Thistle have gone 12 games unbeaten, including a play-off semi-final win over Dunfermline Athletic and a 1-1 home draw in the first leg of the final. St Mirren have lost manager Stephen Robinson to Aberdeen and have won only three times in 11 outings. Alex Gogic and Cammy Logan stress the importance of the second leg, with interim manager Craig McLeish hoping survival leads to a permanent contract.

"Thistle were already nine points adrift of eventual winners St Johnstone in the Championship at the time of their previous meeting, while St Mirren were three points clear of Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot in the top tier. Since then, however, Mark Wilson's Thistle have gone 12 games unbeaten, including a play-off semi-final win over Dunfermline Athletic and a 1-1 draw at home to the Buddies in Friday's first leg of the final."

"St Mirren, who had gone into that Scottish Cup tie on the back of a five-game run without a win, have since lost their manager, Stephen Robinson, to Premiership rivals Aberdeen and won only three times in 11 outings. And rival defenders Alex Gogic and Cammy Logan know just how important the second leg could be to everyone at both clubs."

""He's done a great job since coming in and we showed him respect," 32-year-old Cyprus international Gogic said of the club's former youth coach. "We got some good results, but it is up to the board we can just help him out. It's for everyone it's for ourselves, the fans, him and all the staff.""

""It's a huge game," he said. "I was in this situation with Hamilton [Academical]. "When you are younger, you don't realise how much it matters to the backroom staff, the people throughout the whole club and the fans. "There is a balance. We can't put pressure on us. We just play to our best and go and get that win.""

Read at www.bbc.com