GUS MacPherson was one of only four managers who watched the Scottish cup fifth round draw safe in the knowledge his side was definitely in the hat.
The Buddies saw off Alloa at Greenhill Road on Saturday to join Dundee United, Hibs, Aberdeen and 24 other teams in the mix for the next round of the cup.
Even Dunfermline, who saw off Stenhousemuir 7-1, weren't totally guarnteed of their place af
ter a mix-up with fielding a suspended substitute.
MacPherson watched his victors, there by grace of Billy Mehmet's hat-trick, drawn to play either his former club or Hamilton Accies who fought out a 3-3 stalemate on Sunday.
But although the Buddies' boss was one of few bosses not in the dark as to his side's participation in round five, he had been earlier in the weekend at Greenhill Road.
On a gloomy overcast afternoon in north-west Paisley, Saints did little to light up procceedings other than conducting the very necessary defeat of the Wasps.
And while the football wasn't particularly dazzling, neither too was the view from the stands or the dug-out as Saints elected to keep the floodlights off the pitch until around half-time.
Atmospheric, well, sort of.
It took almost half an hour for Mehmet to hit the net, on his way to his second hat-trick of the season. This one, though, is up for debate.
A header took a couple of favourable bounces off the post and Alloa goalkeeper David Crawford's despairing dive before crossing the line but Mehmet still took the plaudits of his team-mates for breaking the deadlock against the hard-working visitors.
Their toil paid off just a few minutes later when Mark Brown volleyed past Paul Gallacher at the opposite end of the pitch, but they didn't reach the sanctuary of the dressing room on par with the hosts with Mehmet again finding the net.
After the break the Wasps made Saints work for their win, and the match result was still in doubt until the dying stages when Mehmet wrapped up a probable, and deserved hat-trick five minutes from the whistle.
It earns them one of few guarnteed berths in the next round, and a chance to potnentially do the Old Firm Scottish Cup double at Greenhill Road, following last season's defeat of Celtic at home. The goalscorer that, of course, was Billy Mehmet.
ends
