ALLAN JOHNSTON was thrilled his players enjoyed the winning feeling on Saturday but has urged them to use it as a platform to move up the table.

The Pars boss was full of praise for his team after Farid El Alagui’s dramatic late winner clinched an exhilarating 4-3 win over St Mirren that sent them up to seventh and halted a run of five successive league defeats.

A trip to last season’s League One rivals Ayr United awaits this weekend and Johnston told Press Sport: “We passed the ball well, created chances, scored goals and should’ve been well out of sight. We shouldn’t have had to hang on at the end because we were so far on top but it’s about consistency now. We’ve got to make sure we produce that type of performance week-in, week-out, and we’ve not been far away on a lot of occasions. We’ve not let ourselves down in many games; there’s not been a lot between the teams in this league but if we can play like that then we won’t be far away.

“I said all along we weren’t going to panic because we’ve got goalscorers in our team when you look at the strikers and the wide players. I’m on record as saying Nicky Clark was excellent; he was everywhere but there was a lot of good performances. It (the table) looks a bit better but it’s still not where we want to be. I think we should have another six to nine points at least but we are capable of putting a run together and get up the table. Winning is a great feeling; we were used to it last year and we want to get used to it again this year.”

Johnston made four changes to his line-up on Saturday – most notably bringing Sean Murdoch back in goal from injury – while Callum Fordyce was withdrawn at half-time in favour of Ryan Williamson.

Although he highlighted a number of excellent individual performances, the manager paid tribute to the attitude of his squad as a whole, commenting: “I thought Lewis Martin was outstanding and that it was one of Michael Paton’s best games for Dunfermline. Some of his deliveries were different class and some of his control and beating players was brilliant. He was a big loss at the start of the season so it was great to see him in top form and I thought John Herron was excellent. In the first 25 minutes he was different class, maybe got a wee bit sloppy for 10 minutes or so, but in the second half was firing on all cylinders.

“Sean’s another one and it’s good to see him back. It was a big decision but Sean did really well; results haven’t been going as well as they should’ve been going and it’s not just down to Hutts (David Hutton), who’s been a bit unlucky at times. There’s still competition and they’re pushing each other all the way; in training, Hutts’ attitude has been fantastic and that’s what you’re looking for.

“It’s a really good bunch of boys who all want to play and be part of a successful team. It’s about getting that wee bit of consistency now and building on that result and performance. It’s a hard game at the weekend against Ayr but we want to be really positive and get the right result. We’ve just got to make sure we keep working hard in training, keep the standards high and do the right things.”

Nat Wedderburn and David Hopkirk featured for the under-20s in Wednesday night’s game with Hearts at Kelty but otherwise Johnston has no selection worries.

Meanwhile, Pars fans travelling to Somerset will be able to watch the game for just £5 after Ayr slashed admission prices. There will be a collection for Alzheimer’s Scotland and a minute’s silence ahead of kick-off in memory of former United chairman, and current chair Lachlan Cameron’s father, Donald.