WINNING league titles is nothing new to Liam Henderson.

He concedes, however, that being part of a Ladbrokes Championship success from start to finish with Hibernian this season would carry considerably more meaning than many of the medals his collection currently consists of.

Henderson was introduced to the Celtic side at the end of the 2013-14 season as they won the SPL crown by a country mile and picked up another gong at the end of last month when Rosenborg, for whom he made 13 appearances during a loan spell that stretched from March to June of this year, secured the Norwegian Tippeligaen.

With the greatest of respect, he was only a bit-part player for those two sides. At Easter Road, things are considerably different.

The 19-year-old midfielder, on loan from Celtic for the season, was outstanding at St Mirren Park as Hibernian kept up the pressure on Rangers at the top of the table with a 4-1 victory over their hosts and was clear when asked whether helping overcome the Ibrox side and gaining automatic promotion would be more significant than the other league medal he has already secured this season.

"Definitely," he replied. "I have been dipped in and out of teams so far, but I have managed to get a run of games here at Hibs and it would mean a lot to get this team back to where it belongs.

"It is far too big a club to be playing in the Championship.

"I got a medal from Norway this season and texted a couple of the boys to offer my congratulations. Their cup final is on the 22nd and I hope I can get over for that."

Henderson, of course, scored the night that Celtic wrapped up the SPL trophy in March 2014 with a goal in a 5-1 win at Partick Thistle.

"That seems a wee while ago now, but we have a really tight group at Hibs and I have never been part of a dressing room like this, where the boys are so close and the banter is flying," he said. "I am loving it. Alan Stubbs is the first manager, if I am being totally honest, who has put his trust in me and is playing me every week.

"Neil Lennon put me into a Celtic team when I was 17 and they were going for the title, so I am indebted to him as well. The gaffer here has put a lot of faith in me, though, and that gives you added confidence to know that he wants you to make things happen for his team."

He certainly made things happen at the weekend, but it was St Mirren who started sharpest and opened the scoring after just eight minutes when Sean Kelly swept the ball home from inside the area after moving onto a corner from Stevie Mallan.

Jason Cummings levelled the scores two minutes later, though, and a piece of brilliance from Henderson set the visitors up nicely for victory. He played a quick free-kick from just inside opposition territory that caught St Mirren napping. His beautiful reverse pass found James Keatings, who had peeled off his marker, on the left-hand side of the area and his low, angled finish made it 2-1.

"It was off-the-cuff," revealed Henderson. "He gave me 'the eyes' and I managed to give him the ball.

"I just knew where he wanted it. He is always on the move. He still had an awful lot to do, but it was a great finish. All three of his goals were brilliant.

"I didn't play with him at Celtic, but I trained with him a few times. When I first went full-time, he was one of the older youth players and he was really good with me when I went into Barrowfield.

"I am here with him now and we get on really well. You can see in training that we have a really good understanding."

Keatings probably did snatch the Man of the Match award from Henderson in the end. He made it 3-1 with a curling shot just before the interval and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after referee Andrew Dallas felt home substitute Cameron Howieson had fouled Henderson in the area.

Things just don't get any better for St Mirren. Ian Murray, their manager, did have a huge rebuilding job to carry out in the summer, but it did not seem unrealistic to expect them to be in touch with the play-off places at least.

They are not. They are 11 points off Raith Rovers, who could not buy a win in fourth place either. Worst of all, they are level on points with second-bottom Dumbarton, but striker Calum Gallagher is not thinking about the season developing into a relegation battle above all else.

"We know what we need to do to reach the play-off places and we are full of belief that we will get there," he said. "It is not something we see as an unrealistic target. It is the complete opposite. We expect to be there."