MacPherson saw his side come back to win from 2-0 down

"For that group to stay in the SPL, and the club with the resources it has, is a major achievement," he said.

"For players that haven't experienced the demands of SPL football the mental strength required is considerable.

"I have probably learned more about them in the last four or five weeks than I have for the last two years."

Interview: St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson

Dunfermline pushed the Buddies all the way with a run of five wins from six SPL games before their loss at Inverness sent them down.

And MacPherson hit out at claims by "certain members of the press" that neither side deserved to stay up.

He said: "It was ridiculous for people to suggest two teams should be relegated.

"You have got to look at the resources available to every club. "Everyone in football knows how tough the SPL is. We have done the right thing and done our talking on the pitch."