As they’ve been bigging themselves up for the Cup

conference when he spoke about it we got more clarity about what he was implying.

“It was a penalty and Derek agrees so now we know.”

Clarke hopes Jones, who missed Saturday’s win over Ross County with a hamstring problem, will be fit for tonight’s clash.

And he has no doubt about which team has more pressure to succeed. The Killie gaffer said: “There will be a little bit more pressure on Aberdeen than us. Their season rests on a good cup run.

“When you look at the comments coming from Aberdeen, they are talking about winning the Cup.

“If you talk about winning the Cup you put more pressure on yourselves. We talk about trying to get to a semi-final and trying to beat Aberdeen in a replay.

“If Aberdeen go out having drawn Kilmarnock at home in a quarter-final they’ll be disappointed. There’s no getting away from that.

“If we go out having drawn Aberdeen away we’ll be sad but we’ll move on.

“Aberdeen’s season as a whole could be defined by how well they do in the Scottish Cup. Maybe Derek will say different but I believe there’s a little bit more pressure on them than us.

“Our season is going well. If we finish in the top six, having been where we were, it’ll be a good achievement.”

On Jones, the Killie manager said: “If he’s fit it’ll be because the physio has done good work and because he’s a conscientious lad.

“He is desperate to play in a big game such as this one.

“Jordan has nothing to prove to anybody. He has improved a lot.

“Fingers crossed but I’m much more hopeful than I was when he came off against St Johnstone last midweek.”