STEVEN MacLEAN, with the subtlest of flicks of the boot, set about destroying Ross County's ambitions of emulating St Johnstone this season. But the seasoned Saints striker believes the very fact the Dingwall club are striving to model themselves on his own club is a measure of the consistent scale of achievement under Tommy Wright. Victory in Dingwall, with MacLean claiming the close-range winner – his 13th of the campaign – just before the hour, hoisted the Perth men into pole position for another impressive fourth-place finish. It won't be good enough this year to secure Europa League qualification but the relentless consistency of Saints' top-flight finishes last week had County manager Jim McIntyre waxing lyrical. With similar fan-base and resources, the League Cup winners want to model themselves on the team from 125 miles down the A9 by establishing themselves as top six regulars. The 33-year-old former Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth striker said: "No matter that we have achieved it before, fourth place would be massive for a club like St Johnstone - a great achievement. "If we can do it, the club makes more money and the players so as well so it's a win-win all round. "We probably do set a bench-mark for other teams in terms of our consistency and it's great when another manager compliments you like Jim McIntyre did before the game. "It says we are doing something right as a club. We know we are capable of turning any team over on our day but it's a question of getting the consistency to do it week-in, week-out. That's what we are looking for. "We had a bit of a blip through December and January but we came out of it and, hopefully, we can see it out to the rest of the season." Maclean's winner was straight off the training ground, a move practiced intensively the day before the match. In a game often bereft of inspiration, Danny Swanson's corner was flighted perfectly to the edge of the 18-yard line where Joe Shaughnessy thundered a header goalward. Close to the line, MacLean was perfectly-placed to execute the kind of flick manager Tommy Wright later compared to Kenny Dalglish in his prime. The striker was happy to accept the plaudits, but happier t=with a massive three points in the chase for the extra £200,000 on offer for a fourth place, as opposed to sixth-place, finish. He stressed: "Dingwall is a hard place to come and get three points but I thought our possession was excellent. "We never created many clear-cut opportunities as our final ball let us down at times, but I thought we kept the ball really well. "We actually worked on that corner yesterday and although it didn't come off in training once, it did today luckily enough for us! County were to take until the 67th minute to find a shot on target in this poor spectacle. It was a day when their influential attacking players failed to shine, although a great deal of credit had to go to St Johnstone in terms of organisation and gameplan. Saints always held slightly the upper hand, while remaining rock-solid at the back. First half highlights, scarce to say the least, included a tip over the bar by County keeper Scott Fox from David Wotherspoon's dangerous free-kick - and precious little else. But the crucial breakthrough came after 56 minutes. Danny Swanson's corner swung to the edge of the County box and Shaughnessy was there to thump a powerful header goalward. Crucially, MacLean was waiting in a crowded six-yard box to flick the ball over the line. County's best attempt saw the lively Jonathan Franks slice inside from the right and thump a 22-yard shot in at keeper Zander Clark who dealt with it superbly. County's Dutch striker Alex Schalk, fresh from committing next season to the Highlanders, cut a dejected figure at full-time. He admitted: "It was very disappointing. It was nowhere near what we've shown in the last couple of weeks. "St Johnstone deserved it, they were the better team. We screwed it up. "It was one of those games where nothing was going our way. We lost every second ball, and we could not get hold of the ball. "It was a very hard game for us, because they won every battle. We hope it's just an off day and we can get back at it next week. "It's now going to be difficult to reach fourth place in the table, but in football it can go either way. "There are another three games left - nine points - and we will go all out to get all nine."