Mcinnes: Savour the moment, but there’s work to do
Derek Mcinnes told Kilmarnock to savour their split position – but warned it’s not time yet to celebrate fourth spot.
Killie’s players answered the call to close out the 33-game schedule with two big wins against Ross County and St Johnstone.
That’s put them eight points clear of St Mirren with five games to play.
However, Mcinnes cautioned: “The fans can enjoy the moment and I’ve asked the players to enjoy it – it’s not always easy being involved in football.
“As managers and players, it can be tough and challenging, a bit soul-searching at times.
“You’ve got to try enjoy these types of moments, but you’ll forgive me for saying we’ve still got work to do to secure it.
“Nobody of a Kilmarnock persuasion is going to think otherwise until we are secure.
“But, privately, we’re really pleased because we felt like if we won against Ross County and beat St Johnstone it would take a huge step forward in trying to secure European football.
“There’s still work to be done and hopefully a few more special days to come.
“The split will be terrific for us – games against all the best teams in the league.
“There’s a lot riding on it for so many teams and we’ll be right in the mix for it. There’s still work to do and the players have been told that.
“It would be foolish for anyone to think otherwise.” Mcinnes was pleased his team negotiated the rocky spell endured early in the second period. “We never got started in first 20 minutes of the second half but thankfully we got that second goal,” he said. “Our substitutes were really influential. Mckenzie and Lyons gave us a jag in there. “We started to play the ball more in St Johnstone’s half and gained territory and pressure.
“We enjoyed the last part of the game. We did a lot right and credit to our players.” Saints boss Craig Levein was angry at the dip in performance levels after two decent displays. He noted: “The rollercoaster is back in operation. It was a heck of a frustrating afternoon. “Some of the basic stuff, we didn’t do well enough. We didn’t play with the confidence I thought we should’ve done because of our previous performances. “Individually we didn’t have many players who played anywhere near their best. “Kilmarnock didn’t batter us by any stretch of the imagination and we had some good chances but didn’t take them. “When that happens, it’s like a boost to the opposition.”