Lack of complacency and blame culture key to Killie revival, says Findlay
Kilmarnock moved up to third place in the Premiership with their 2-1 victory away to St Mirren on Saturday. It was their fourth successive league win but that does not begin to put that achievement in context.
Remarkably, the team which was rooted to the foot of the table when Steve Clarke arrived at Rugby Park a year ago has become the most successful team in the country.
They have won more toptier points than any of their rivals in 2018. Even those four recent victories are indicative of a bigger picture, given that the Ayrshire club had to come from behind to prevail in each of them.
Consequently, they have takentwomorepointsthanchampions Celtic during the calendar year but central defender Stuart Findlay revealed that he and his team-mates will not be patting themselves on the back.
“We don’t get a trophy for it,” he said. “It’s a nice stat to have and shows how far we have come and a good marker for us to go on with but at this point, that’s all it is – just a stat.
“For us, we want to keep winning and keep performing well. You let the stats, the league positions and everything take care of itself.
“We’ll just concentrate on our performances and try to continue in the same vein.”
Clarke’s quest for perfection is what drives his players on, according to Findlay.
“It’s been an incredible run but the manager will tell you there have been days when we’ve dropped points we shouldn’t have,” he said.
“Against Hearts, we lost a goal in the last ten minutes, away to Hibs we conceded a penalty and lost a point, so we know there’s definitely room for improvement. We know we can’t let our levels drop because things can go down just as quickly as they went up.
“It’s a matter of keeping the levels and not letting complacency or a lackadaisical attitude slip into our form. We need to keep the standards of the last year which have us in good stead.”
Findlay also revealed that Clarke’s insistence on players owning their mistakes has benefited the squad.
“There’s a mentality when a team isn’t doing well, where players point fingers and blame others,” he claimed.
“But the main thing about a team trying to improve is being able to look at themselves and realise what they can do better.
“The sooner that individuals see what they are doing wrong, the quicker it helps the team – that’s better than pointing fingers and deflecting the blame.
“It’s easier to look in the mirror when you’re doing well. That’s not something which comes with winning. It’s easy to have each other’s back when you are winning games and the manager has instilled belief that we can win and beat anyone.
“It’s nothing to do with changing the mentality of players as people – it’s about changing the way we feel going onto the park.”