FEW of the 423 St Mirren supporters who'd made the trip to the Fair City appreciated the half-hearted applause from the Paisley players at the end of yet another woeful display, one that leaves them with lead weights in their boots at the bottom of the Premiership.

For St Johnstone, on the other hand, the future looks decidedly rosier as they edged themselves into fifth spot, closing-in on Dundee United, two points ahead but with a couple of games in hand.

They were superior in every department and had they not been so wasteful in the final third, the scoreline would have reflected the gulf between the sides.

It took until just after just after half an hour had been played before some form of relief was offered to Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager, who must have wondered when his side's dominance would be rewarded.

But Brian Graham's goal stunned the visitors as he accepted David Wotherspoon's cross into the area and did the damage for which he is employed in this his first start since mid-January.

"I was pleased Brian came back and scored," said Wright.

"He gets into good positions and it was a decent ball in from Wotherspoon. Brian said Jim Goodwin was inches away from heading it clear and the ball just dropped to his feet and he kept calm and stuck it away.

"We have emphasised the point to the players they every point, every win at this stage of the season is vital and this win opens up a wee bit of a gap on the likes of Kilmarnock and Dundee and moves us above Hamilton, the team we play next."

St Johnstone's lead was no more than they deserved, given the number of attacking moves they had mounted in the opening forty-five minutes, during which Graham, understandably, seemed extra-anxious to make an impact in trying to anticipate a number of crosses towards him as the Paisley side were constantly forced on to the back foot.

Indeed, Graham, Wotherspoon and Michael O'Halloran were problematic for the Buddies' defence with their energy and movement off the ball and the tall striker would have opened the scoring after 12 minutes had he not hit his shot from a yard out straight into the arms of Mark Ridgers.

The St Mirren goalkeeper, however, could not reach the former Dundee United front-man's clever swerving shot from the edge of the area, and watched as the ball clipped the outside of the back post before going past.

There were one or two promising moments for the visitors as teasing ball across the area were delivered but booted clear by St Johnstone defenders, reminded that they could be punished for a lapse in concentration.

Yet, it was centre-back Steven Anderson who abandoned his normal role to increase St Johnstone's lead just after the hour mark as he timed his run into the box to head Wotherspoon's corner-kick into the Paisley team's net and increase their misery, though there was a smidgen of hope for them in the 65th minute as Yoann Arquin's header was volleyed with force by Victor Genev from 10 yards but stopped by goalkeeper Alan Mannus who had to be equally acrobatic to deal with Sean Kelly's stinging strike from 25 yards as the visitors sought something - if only a consolation goal - from this game.

It never looked like coming.

Gary Teale, the Buddies manager, summed-up his side's performance with three simple words: "We were awful."

It' was difficult to spot a glimmer of hope for them in the fight to avoid the drop to the Championship next season and he admitted he is going to have to unearth something meaningful to steer his side north in the table.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves," he said. "We need to move on and put things right.

"We need a freshness and a bit of energy. I am thoroughly enjoying the job as a young manager coming in but results matter and I could take no positives from that display.

"I take full responsibility but pride from the players has to come into it as well because we didn't offer much.

"I may have to introduce some of the younger boys who may not have the relegation issue as a pressure."

Judging by the paucity of ideas within their side, however, it's difficult to see a resolution to their deep-seated problems.

St Johnstone (4-4-2): Mannus; Mackay, Anderson, Wright, Easton; Wotherspoon, Davidson, Millar, O'Halloran (Swanson 77); MacLean, Graham (Kane 80). Subs not used: Banks, Scobbie, McFadden, Miller, Croft. Booked: Easton 82 St Mirren (4-4-1-1): Ridgers; Naismith, Goodwin, Genev, Tesselaar; Dayton (Arquin 52), Mallan (Sadlier 74), McGinn, Kelly; Gow (McLear 72); Thompson. Subs not used: Kello, Reilly, McAusland, Wylde. Booked: Tesselaar 74.

Referee: J Beaton.

Attendance: 3,166.