Thomas never doubted his chance to shine
KILMARNOCK V ROSS COUNTY
DOM Thomas, the Kilmarnock midfielder, is keen to show his worth to the Rugby Park club after signing a one-year contract extension yesterday. The chatty 23-year-old has tied himself to Kilmarnock until 2021 and has been the surprise package in Angelo Alessio’s side this season. Thomas struggled to make an impact at the club under previous manager Steve Clarke and headed down the leagues to Dumbarton on a season-long loan 12 months ago in order to get firstteam football. Thomas insisted that he never allowed his head to go down as Kilmarnock flourished under Clarke and he has seized his chance to shine this season. “The manager has showed faith in me by giving me a new contract and I’d like to thank him by going out and showing that I deserve it and showing the fans that I deserve it,” he said. “I feel as if I help team by scoring goals and setting goals up and hopefully that will pay them back. “I spoke to Steve Clarke about it and we agreed that I would go on loan to Dumbarton and then with the managerial change I spoke to him again this year and he said there was definitely space in the team for me if I got my head down and worked hard,” explained the midfielder. “At the end of the day I am living the dream. I am being paid to play football which is what I have wanted to do my whole life. There is much worse in life than being paid to play football. I am a happy-go-lucky guy and I never really get down. There are players whose heads go down if they are not playing but you have to look at the bigger picture.” And the Kilmarnock manager has insisted that the example of Thomas can be used by other youngsters coming through the ranks. “I am pleased for Dom,” said Alessio. “I watched him in preseason and he worked really hard to get into the team. He has great technique and skills but he still has things to improve on. “He did well at Dumbarton last season, now, step by step, I think he can help us this season. Dom shows to young players if you keep working hard you can get into the team. For me, talent and hard work is the most important thing.” Meanwhile, Keith Watson insists a confident Ross County side are focused on building on their winning run when they visit Kilmarnock on Saturday. The Staggies have won both of their Ladbrokes Premiership matches since the international break, beating St Mirren at home before coming from behind to win 2-1 at Motherwell last time out. And while defender Watson is steeling himself for a difficult game, he is keen to keep the positive run going. In a video on Ross County’s Twitter account, he said: “I think it’s going to be a difficult game. They’ve been on a decent run of form as well. “It’s got the makings to be a good game. “We’re full of confidence, the boys are buzzing. You can see that in training as well. “It’s hard to win back-to-back in this league but we’ve done it and we’re looking to build on that.