Alston convinced Kilmarnock will hit the right notes on return to the big time
After sealing promotion at the first time of asking, midfielder is determined for club to make their mark
KILMARNOCK fans did not waste any time coming up with a chant to celebrate Blair Alston’s dramatic last-minute winner against Arbroath in the cinch Championship decider back in April.
They belted out “Alston won the league at Rugby
Park” when Derek McInnes’s men played Raith Rovers in Kirkcaldy in their final fixture of the season the following week.
The former Falkirk, St Johnstone and Hamilton midfielder, who controlled a pass from Oli Shaw and then stroked a shot into the bottom right corner, enjoyed being serenaded by the Killie faithful.
However, he is more concerned now with making sure the Ayrshire outfit are on-song when they make their return to the Premiership next month.
Many sides who win promotion to the top flight simply seek to consolidate their position and avoid dropping straight back down – a fate which befell play-off winners Dundee last season.
However, Kilmarnock will have far loftier ambitions than that when they take to the field to play Dundee United at home in their opening fixture on July 30.
McInnes is keen for his men to compete with the likes of Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers in the 2021/22 campaign and finish as high up the table as they possibly can.
Alston firmly believes that is the right approach for a club which spent 28 seasons in the top division before their painful demotion last year and is confident they can handle the step up with aplomb.
“The song is brilliant,” he said after a pre-season training session with his Kilmarnock team-mates at Inverclyde in Largs yesterday. “It’s one of those things, you can’t ask for any better way to finish a season.
“The celebrations after the Arbroath game were great as there was a lot of pressure on us last season to win the league.
“Obviously, you’d always want to be further ahead and win it that way [Kilmarnock beat their nearest challengers Arbroath 2-1 in their penultimate league match].
“We wanted to win it more comfortably, but when it got to that situation it couldn’t have gone any better. We did enjoy it but that’s done now.
“A week is a long time in football, so six or seven weeks off is a massive length of time. We enjoyed that moment, but now we are looking forward to getting started again.
“It’s about getting ready for
next season. The boys are in early, we are looking fit and the fixtures coming out makes it feel a lot closer. It’s been a tough start to training and now we are looking forward to the games.
“We felt we had a squad which was good enough to play in the league above last season. I think that was part of why we were so disappointed in a way throughout the campaign.
“We’ve retained a lot of those players and obviously the manager has added a couple already and potentially could add a few more.
“We certainly feel that we’re capable of doing well next year. It’s obviously going to be difficult, but we certainly feel we’ve got a squad which can do well.
“I think if you go up saying ‘we’re just here to survive’ then you are a almost setting yourself up for failure.
“You are almost saying that winning every so often is good enough and we don’t want to be like that.
“We’re not probably expecting to win as many games as we did last year because we know the league is going to be a lot tougher, but there’s no reason to go up and just win one in every five or six games.
“You want to try and win as many as you can. We’ll see how we get on but we’ll look to go and impose ourselves in the league and make an impact.”
A crowd of 11,500 crammed in to Rugby Park when Kilmarnock took on Arbroath and Alston is optimistic the Championship champions will receive good backing in the Premiership.
The 30-year-old feels their fans can give them a vital edge in the top flight – but he knows they have to produce the goods on the park to keep them coming through the turnstiles.
“The fans throughout the season were good, particularly at the start when our home form wasn’t what we wanted it to be,” he said. “They showed their support.
“If the same number turn up then it is going to be a massive advantage for us. We were taking thousands to away games where other clubs were maybe only taking a couple of hundred. We know we have got the backing there. It is up to us to do it on the pitch.”
Going in the opposite direction is Jason Naismith, who has been reunited with Owen Coyle after signing a one-year deal with Championship newcomers Queen’s Park.
The 28-year-old full-back made 23 appearances for the second-tier title winners last term.
Defender Naismith began his career at St Mirren and has also played for Hibs, Ross County and Peterborough.
It was during his time with County that he worked under the current Spiders boss.
Naismith said: “This is a great opportunity for me to be joining an ambitious club at an exciting time.
“I know the manager from previously and know how he works so I just can’t wait to get started now”
Manager Coyle said: “Jason is a good addition to our squad who has played at the highest level and is a team player.
“We know he has a fantastic character, and we are looking forward to seeing him show his ability in a Queen’s Park shirt.”