Toby: An opportunity to solidify third

The men in maroon currently have a five-point lead in third spot and travel to Paisley on Saturday before welcoming the Buddies, who themselves sit fifth, to Tynecastle the following Friday.

“It is an important game,” Sibbick admitted. “We obviously want to take six points from these two games because we want to solidify third place and get European football again.

“The first thing we spoke about when we got back from the break was about knuckling down and trying to secure third place and close the gap on Rangers in second,” he added.

“Obviously, we have started well, so we just need to make sure we keep the form up against St Mirren on Saturday.

The recent injury to Craig Halkett has increased the pressure on the 23-year-old, but his recent performances show he is up to the task and Sibbick himself admits that he is brimming with confidence after a recent run in the side.

“On a personal level, it is always nice to be back out on the pitch and playing games because every player wants to play every minute of every game.”

“I think every player goes through a rough patch in their career at some stage. I think confidence comes from a run of games, so it can be difficult to get that confidence going if you are in and out of the team.

“When you get a run of games you can start performing, you gain confidence, make better decisions and get your match sharpness back, so I definitely feel much more confident now.”