GOOD TIMES AHEAD SAYS KILLIE STAR
GORDON GREER played in an era when Kilmarnock were a top-five club, sealing back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 2006 and 2007.
Now the 37-year-old ex-Scotland star says Steve Clarke could be the man to bring the good times back to Rugby Park.
In the 10 games since the new boss took over at Killie he has lifted them from second-bottom to within two points of the top six.
Greer said: “We’re not happy just to stay in the league. We want to be up near the top of the table.
“We were near the bottom and are now in a much better position but we are still striving to be better, get away from the relegation zone and get in touch with the teams above us.
“I was here a few years ago and success for us was to finish in the top six. We knew we were never going to win the league.
“At the time, Celtic and Rangers were really strong and Hearts also had a good team. Then Hibs, Aberdeen and ourselves were pushing to get a top-six place.
“Now you have a strong Celtic team and everybody else is fighting it out to finish second and below. Success recently for Killie has been to stay in the league but we want to change that and finish in the top six.
“That is not success for every team in the league. If Rangers don’t finish second it’s a failure but for us a successful season would be to finish in the top six.
“January will be a big time for the club We can strengthen and regroup. The manager has his ideas so I hope we can get a few new players in to help us kick on.”
It is a measure of the swagger Killie are playing with under Clarke that Greer insists the players believe they can do a number on Rangers this weekend.
He admits they took great confidence from their 1-1 draw at Ibrox back in October when Clarke was in charge for the first time.
Greer said: “When we went to play Rangers away I said there weren’t many times we have played there and had a chance to win. That is just being honest.
“Now, you look at the team and think, ‘We have got a chance.’”
Greer has shrugged off criticism from fans in the last days of Lee McCulloch’s reign as boss. He says Clarke has made the team a more defensively sound unit which has helped them to reconnect with the punters.
Greer said: “The manager has made it easier for me because we are more solid.
“A lot of the fingers pointed at the defence earlier in the season were wide of the mark. We were trying, it just wasn’t happening.
“Hopefully, we can kick on, win as many games as possible and push up the league table.”