Boyce on double to top chart

JIM McIntyre saluted striker Liam Boyce and pledged to keep him in Dingwall after two predatory strikes allowed County to finish the season best of the rest.

Boyce took his remarkable league goal tally to 23 and will finish the Premiership’s top scorer unless Celtic’s Scott Sinclair scores three or more against Hearts today.

Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen are all reputedly interested in signing the Northern Irishman who has a year left on his contract, but McIntyre has no interest in selling.

“He’s been fantastic. To get that amount of goals at a provincial club says a lot about him,” McIntyre said. “He’s a professional, conscientious and works his socks off, so he deserves all the success and the plaudits going.

“It would be a fantastic achievement if he gets top scorer and I hope he gets it, but he’d be the first to recognise his team-mates for their role in it. We have no interest in selling him, but we can’t predict what will happen.”

Kilmarnock were ahead in 10 minutes when Jonathan Franks brought down Jordan Jones on the left side of the box and Connor Sammon made a fine job with the penalty.

Boyce showed what a good striker he is when he was there to finish off a sequence of play in 42 minutes which just had to result in a goal. First, Franks hit the right post with a ferocious shot. Christopher Routis got on to the rebound and hit the same post with Jamie MacDonald clawing the ball away. However, Boyce was there to force the ball home from a tight angle.

The irony was Killie were on top and pressing hard in 70 minutes when they lost the match – and it was a nightmare for Kristoffer Ajer. The teenage Celtic loanee misjudged Routis’ ball forward and Boyce nipped in to lob the ball over the advancing MacDonald.

Lee McCulloch will become the permanent Kilmarnock manager next week after his appointment was confirmed by chairman Billy Bowie.

He said: “Hopefully we can sit down and come to an agreement about planning for the future of the club.”