Hibernian’s 3-0 win took them to 47 points and sealed their place with two games to spare.
That was a scarcely believable notion in early November when David Gray’s side sat bottom of the Scottish Premiership after just one win in their first 12 games.
A magnificent run of form changed the mood in Leith though and has them sitting one point clear in third place.
“A fantastic day’s work and we fully deserved it given the performance,” Gray said after the victory over bottom side St Johnstone.
“At the start of the season the aim is to finish in the top six minimum for this football club. Then you start to look towards European places and if that’s achievable. That’s the target, that’s the aim.
“We had a really difficult start, had to go through that adversity at the start of the season but that’s now 15 games undefeated in the league which has given us the opportunity to secure top six with two games to go.”
Aberdeen swept aide Motherwell 4-1 to confirm their place in the top-half as well.
Their route there has been in stark contrast to Hibs’, with a run of 31 points from their first 11 games being followed by a 14-game winless run.
However, manager Jimmy Thelin was pleased to seal their top-half position having steadied the ship with three wins, two draws, and defeat by Celtic in their last six games.
“From the beginning we’ve had a clear picture for the long term, but we want to arrive in Europe this season,” the Aberdeen boss said.
