KILLIE NEED LAFFERTY UP TO SPEED — AND QUICKLY

THE problems are piling up for Kilmarnock. That’s now eight defeats on the bounce after the 1-0 loss at Aberdeen on Saturday. Incredibly, Killie have failed to score in seven of those eight games. Their lack of goals has led to an alarming slide down the Premiership table. Clearly, it won’t take Tommy Wright long to figure out what area of the team needs to be addressed as he seeks to turn their season around.

Wright has only just arrived at the club and I do believe he’s got the necessary quality and experience as a manager to steer the club away from trouble. But he doesn’t really have time for much of a settling-in period. The clock is ticking and Killie now have just eight games left to save their season. The signing of Kyle Lafferty could prove to be a shrewd piece of business, albeit he’s never really been a prolific goalscorer throughout his career.

Lafferty has always been more of a link-up player and a scorer of great goals, rather than a great goalscorer. Particularly at Rangers, he always had a habit of chipping in with some really big goals towards the business end of the season. Killie need to get him up to speed — and quickly. In the middle of a horrendous goal drought, Lafferty’s experience and intelligence in the final third could be vital.

He knows how to hold the ball up and link the play, which could help create chances for others around him. It was a bit of a bolt from the blue when Killie signed him. I’m not sure many people saw it coming. But if Wright can get a tune out of his fellow Northern Irishman over these final few games, and he scores the goals to keep Killie in the league, Lafferty will earn cult-hero status in Ayrshire.