Jags must be confident after being ‘unbelievable’ in defeat says O’donnell

KILMARNOCK

V PARTICK THISTLE

Jordan Turnbull wants Partick Thistletotraveltokilmarnock with confidence today despite being bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The 1-0 home defeat by Hibernian last week left the Maryhill men four points adrift of Ross County, Killie and Dundee. However, the 23-year-old defender, on loan from Coventry, insists the Jags should remain bullish.

He said: “We put in an unbelievable performance at the weekend against Hibs and lost to a horrible (own) goal but things like that are going against us right now.

“We need to stay confident. If we let our heads drop it is only going to get worse. “If we get points and gain some ground it will only be good for us.

“We need to be better in the final third, be better in the back and give teams fewer opportunities to score against us.

“If we keep working hard and staying together I am sure we have the quality to get ourselves out of it.

“We want to be pushing up the table but we have to work hard, keep together and stay strong and be confident.”

Thistle were bottom of the table last Christmas but recovered to finish in sixth place.

Manager Alan Archibald, however, is focusing only on this season’s form.

He said: “We have been there before. But it doesn’t mean it is just going to happen. The players do know the hard work that goes in, the type of run they need to go on to get them out of trouble.

“The good thing is we have past experience of it, but we don’t take it for granted.”

Kilmarnock’s Stephen O’donnell, meanwhile, believes manager Steve Clarke has brought the antidote to his side’s early-season “disease”.

The Rugby Park full-back, pictured, acknowledges they had found it almost impossible to hold on to results until Clarke’s appointment.

But they have now taken 12 points from their last eight games compared to just three from their opening eight.

“Sometimes when you are in a rut it can be hard,” admitted O’donnell. “We’ve been in winning positions but not held on and that can become like a disease.

“But since the manager has come in we’ve picked up plenty of points and put in some very good performances, especially against the top teams. It’s all been good since he arrived and hopefully we can continue that with another win against Thistle.

“It’s a big game and we can open up a seven-point gap if we come out on top, which would be a nice cushion.”