A LIAM BOYCE hat trick extended Ross County's astonishing revival at St Mirren Park last night and took his side ever closer to avoiding relegation.

Even before this encounter discussion of arithmetic possibilities had looked irrelevant for the home side but any lingering hope that their nine-year stint in the top flight was not yet over was clinically killed off by opponents for whom a play-off spot had looked a heady aspiration at the turn of the year.

County cannot now finish bottom and have turned the battle to avoid the play-off into a four-horse race having pulled six points clear of 11th-placed Motherwell and within one of both Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock as we reach the split, courtesy of having picked up 25 points from the last 27 available.

With the home side at St Mirren Park as toothless as might be expected of a team that cannot field a player who has scored more than twice this season, the men from the Highlands were dominant throughout and well worthy of such an emphatic win over opponents who spent most of the second half reduced to 10 men following the sending off of central defender Viktor Genev early in the second-half.

Jim McIntyre, the Ross County manager who has masterminded this recovery, was naturally delighted for both Boyce and his team, but urged caution ahead of the run-in.

"There is so much work still to be done in terms of not finishing in 11th place," he insisted.

"It's five cup finals. Motherwell have been in good form and so have Thistle. They're up for the fight as well. What we've done is given ourselves a good chance, but that's all it is and it can quickly change.

"We were six points behind not that long ago before we went on a great run so we've got to be mindful of the fact and just keep grafting.

"We're working ever so hard and showing great quality when we get into the areas and none more so than Liam Boyce tonight."

While McIntyre relishes what he admits is a run that even he could not have hoped for, Gary Teale, for all that he insisted afterwards that he hopes to be given longer to build on the work he has done since taking the reins mid-season, must await a St Mirren board meeting reported to be taking place today with some trepidation after his side was comprehensively outplayed.

From the off County carried the greater threat and the corner count climbed steadily in their favour throughout the opening period.

For the most part St Mirren handled the pressure well, albeit they survived what looked a close call when Boyce looked to have released Michael Gardyne one-on-one with Mark Ridgers, only for the flag to be raised just as he rounded the goal-keeper and slipped the ball into the net.

The pressure finally told just short of the half-hour but even then it took a succession of attempts before County managed to get the ball into the net. Gardyne had the first of them from eight yards out to the right of the goal, Genev getting in the way and when the ball rebounded to Craig Curran he struck it fiercely at Ridgers who did well to parry it. But when it fell to Boyce it was third time lucky as St Mirren ran out of blockers and he blasted it home.

Since the Paisley side have not scored since February it looked a formidable challenge for them even at that stage and Boyce had another clear-cut shooting opportunity before the break which he dragged wide before Saints' were further handicapped when Marc McAusland pulled up lame and had to hobble off.

If losing one centre-half could be considered a misfortune a fair chunk of carelessness was involved in the departure of the other soon after the break.

Initially it looked as if Boyce had been offside as he won the ball on the right, but TV replays suggested otherwise and either way Genev had got himself on the wrong side and consequently felt forced to clatter into him as he broke clear, leaving referee Willie Collum little choice but to brandish the red card.

Gardyne's right-footed free kick attempt from 25 yards out did not quite bend enough, striking the outside of Ridgers' left post with the goalkeeper struggling to cover, but the task remained daunting for the 10 men with more than 40 minutes remaining.

A fine save by Ridgers, diving low to his left, denied Raffaele De Vita soon after and while Saints showed spirit in offering more as an attacking force as they had at full strength Gardyne also came close to wrapping it up, his shot just too high after he had waited patiently for the ball to fall to him just inside the box on the right after Ridgers had slapped it away under pressure from Boyce.

Boyce subsequently should have done better when he met a Martin Woods corner just five yards out and failed to get it on target.

However with 75 minutes on the clock he then showed fine composure to register the goal that put the result beyond doubt, bringing the ball down delicately in collecting Gardyne's cross from the right, then dinking it between Jim Goodwin's legs to leave himself with even more time and room than he had when scoring the opener to pick his spot and duly smash it past Ridgers.

Thereafter the only question was whether County would add to their advantage.

And they duly did so with the last meaningful passage of play when second-half substitute Tony Dingwall got to the byeline and fired the ball across where Boyce met it at unmissable range to complete that hat trick.