‘Lucky’ Mcinnes hails Lafferty and clears up wages claim
Kilmarnock are now four points clear at the top of the cinch Championship, with a 2-1 win over Partick Thistle moving them closer to promotion back to the Premiership.
A double from Kyle Lafferty was enough to see off the Jags at Firhill, giving Killie their fourth win in a row, despite a late goal from Partick’s Ross Docherty.
Mcinnes was quick to hail Lafferty’s contribution, although he moved to dispel rumours that Lafferty is being paid significantly more than his team-mates.
"Kyle's here on the same wages as other players,” said Mcinnes. “He's not here for this big money that might be assumed. He had one offer from the Premiership, a couple of offers abroad and a couple of offers from Championship clubs who were offering the same type of money.
"He felt he had an obligation after being part of a team that was relegated. He felt it was the right fit for him.
“I’m really lucky to have him
and Kilmarnock fans appreciate him. There's never a dull moment Monday to Friday with him. He's a huge personality but when I spoke to people in the Northern Ireland set-up they said on game day there's a switch, he's on it and it's business.
"When each game becomes bigger than the last one, the bigger the performance. He can be so important for us in the run-in with his experience.”
Nearest challengers Arbroath could only draw 3-3 at home to Raith Rovers, with an error from Calum Antell leading manager Dick Campbell to claim that he “hates goalkeepers”.
“Our goalie never touched the ball and when he did touch the ball he let them into the game,” Campbell said. “I don’t know what he was thinking about. Maybe he thought he was in the box or out the box.
“Goalkeepers, I hate them. For me, they’ve just to stop the ball going in between the two posts and the bar.
“I think Calum put his hand up and said he could have done better.”
Elsewhere, Inverness saw off Dunfermline 2-0 to record a third-straight cinch Championship win, Hamilton Accies defeated Queen of the South 1-0 and Morton were held to a 1-1 draw by Ayr United.