NICOLA Sturgeon has said getting a majority at Holyrood is "always a long shot" as a top pollster said the party was not on course for such an outcome.
The SNP leader - who has retaken her Glasgow southside seat - made the remarks as she arrived at the Glasgow count at the Emirates Area this afternoon.
Earlier, the UK leading pollster Sir John Curtice said the SNP was not currently on course to win a majority in the election.
Sir John Curtice has today forecast the SNP are not on course ton win a majority
The Strathclyde University professor made the assessment as he took stock of the declarations so far.
Sturgeon's party need to win at least 65 seats to achieve an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament - two more MSPs than in 2016.
READ MORE: Scottish election: SNP takes East Lothian from Labour
But to date the SNP vote share is down in some key constituencies while opinion polls have forecast that than the party will have a lower number of votes in the regional lists - where results are declared tomorrow.
Asked on if the party were doing enough to get a majority, Curtice said: "The short answer to your question is at the moment at least no. The outcomes...look remarkably similar to what happened in 2016, but the SNP don't want to replicate what happened in 2016, they need to..make modest progress.
"So far at least they are not demonstrating that."
He added: "So far at least there isn't that consistent pattern of two, three point increase in the SNP vote."
The SNP leader told reporters that because of the electoral system getting an outright win is very difficult.
However, with 11 seats already won by the SNP, Sturgeon remains confident of holding on to power
The SNP vote share is down in five constituencies and up by 0.9 in Perthshire North which is Deputy First Minister John Swinney's seat.
In a blow to Labour, the SNP have taken East Lothian from the party in the first seat to change hands in the election.
Paul McLennan beat Labour's Martin Whitfield, the former MP, when the result was declared this afternoon.
Labour had been fighting hard to hold the seat - one of just three constituencies it won in the 2016 election.
The party took the seat with a majority of 1,179 over Labour, which has held the constituency since the start of devolution.
The SNP secured 17,968 votes to Labour's 16,789.
READ MORE: LIVE: Scottish elections: All the news as seats are declared
Labour sources had declared the constituency battle "close" ahead of the declaration.
Former SNP minister Aileen Campbell said: "I am very pleased to see the SNP get the breakthrough there. I am particularly pleased for Paul McLennan..it's a really good result for him and for the party and bodes well for the rest of the counts coming through."
Turnout across Scotland is up by between 5% and 10% on the last Scottish Parliament election in 2016.
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