"He has been outstanding," said MacPherson after the 2-1 defeat of Hibs. "He's the guy that sits in the middle of the park and goes unnoticed.

"He plugs the gaps and breaks up attacks and scoring goals is not normally his forte.

"But we've been encouraging him to get forward and he's hit the target."

Interview: St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson

MacPherson admitted that the opening goal from Ian Maxwell had been lucky.

"His reaction tell it all," he said. "The surprise is there.

It was the manner of the performance that was pleasing St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson

"There's no doubt we have got a wee break.

"You see it so often that the flight of the ball deceives the goalkeeper and it creeps in under the bar and in at the far post."

MacPherson thought it was just what his side needed as they battle to steer clear of relegation trouble.

"It was the manner of the performance that was pleasing," he said.

"I felt we played okay against Aberdeen and did not get the reward that we needed in terms of a break in front of goal.

"We got that break and maybe that was required to give us more confidence on the ball."

MacPherson thought it should be a boost for his side ahead of Tuesday's re-arranged fixture against new Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers.

Meanwhile, MacPherson said there had been no developments in his pursuit of Inverness midfielder John Rankin.

"We have made contact and nothing has really changed," he said.

"It's up to the people upstairs how that develops, but there are one or two others we are looking at."