Gers won 3-2 in a match where losing was not an option for a team who had seen both the UEFA Cup and the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title slip from their grasp in the last 10 days.

Smith said: "It's a little bit of a relief I must say after the amount of football we've had over the last couple of months."

He added: "It's obviously taken its toll a little as you could see today but I'm delighted for all the players that we managed to win.

"After the disappointments of the last 10 days or so, this match was always going to be a difficult one."

Smith praised his players for rallying after letting a two goal lead slip - but feared a fightback would be beyond his exhausted players.

"I just wondered whether we would manage to do that again," he said.

"We did do it and it was a big ask of them. We contributed a little bit ourselves with the slackness at the start of the second half but it would have been a shame if we had lost out because of that.

"It has been an extremely tough spell for everyone involved and we can be a little bit happier than we were a few days ago."