ALI CRAWFORD insists St Johnstone are only looking one way after climbing off the Premiership basement with their first victory in 13 outings.
The playmaker notched a dramatic late goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory at Livingston, their first win since the October 30 success over Dundee United.
Amid a woeful run, Saints lost some ten straight games, including the embarrassing Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Kelty Hearts.
However, with Callum Davidson’s side now up to 11th on goal difference ahead of Dundee, Crawford is adamant that Saints - bolstered by nine January arrivals - can now pick up a different type of momentum.
"It was nice to finally stop the rot,” said Crawford, who converted his loan from Bolton into a permanent arrangement last month.
"We all know where we are. There's only one place we can go when we are in this position and that's up the table.
"We are determined to fight. No one wants to be in the position we are in.
"We showed that at Livingston and hopefully, that's the turning point for the season for us.
"We 100 per cent need to fight it out. We know it's not going to be pretty at times and it was the same at Livingston because it's a tough place to come.
"But I think if we keep doing what we are doing with good tactics, hard work and work ethic, I think we will be all right."
Crawford has welcomed the huge influx of players in January and insists that can only bode well for the rest of the season.
He added: “It's a big squad we have now and you know if you are not pulling your weight, then someone is going to come in and take your place, so that's all the motivation you need to retain your place."
As you would expect, the 30-year-old was overjoyed at scoring the winning goal over the Lions after Callum Hendry’s opener for the away team was cancelled out by Bruce Anderson.
Some Saints fans spilled on to the pitch to celebrate and Crawford was delighted to give them something to cheer about.
He added: “I think we were due a bit of luck and the ball broke nicely to me in the box and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
"But I thought we more than deserved the three points.
The fans were brilliant. It's been difficult for them in the last few months and for us to give them that win shows that we are working hard for them and hopefully we can give them more to cheer about for the rest of the season and keep them on our side."
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