DENNY Johnstone could tell there was something special about the Renfrewshire derby after sampling just one clash with St Mirren.

The striker played the full 90 minutes as Morton and the Saints shared a goalless draw at Cappielow on 22 August.

They renew hostilities in Paisley this evening in a match which will also be screened by the BBC Alba cameras, and Johnstone admits he relishes big match occasions like tonight.

He told the Tele: “I love playing in the games so I’m really looking forward to tonight. It’s a different atmosphere from most of the other matches, isn’t it?

“You can tell there’s a rivalry there between both sets of supporters and it brings the tempo of the game right up. Hopefully it’s another win for us.

“We went fourth on Saturday and it’s a good position to be in just now. I know a few teams have games in hand over us because we got the fixture with Queens out the way.

“But the longer we can stay in that position and put a distance between those below us, the better.

"Going into the game tonight with the possibility of going 15 points clear is massive.

"They’ve just been relegated from the top tier, so the incentive is there for us so we’ll just go out and do our best.”