What a good year for the paper roses
PREMIERSHIP RUGBY PARK SIDE ARE TOPS Findlay hails Killie run but says medals mean more
STUART FINDLAY insists Kilmarnock’s staggering 2018 record means little as it doesn’t win them a trophy.
The Rugby Park outfit are enjoying a scintillating run through the calendar year under the guidance of boss Steve Clarke.
For the first time in their history, Killie have come from behind to win each of their last four Premiership games to sit third in the top flight.
Even more impressively, no team in the division has collected more points this year, topping the pile with 52 points from 26 league games in 2018.
Findlay and teammates are savouring every second of their run but insist it needs to lead to something tangible to count.
The stopper said: “We don’t get a trophy for it. It’s a nice stat to have and BY CRAIG SWAN shows how far we’ve come as a club and a good marker for us to go on with but, at this point, it’s just a stat.
“We want to keep winning and keep performing well. You let the stats, the league positions and everything take care of itself. We just focus on our performances. “It’s been incredible but the manager will tell you there have been days when we have dropped points when we shouldn’t have.
“Against Hearts we lost a goal in the last 10 minutes, away to Hibs we conceded a penalty and lost a point, so we know there is room for improvement.
“We know we can’t let our levels drop because things can go down just as quickly as they went up.
“Ask any player and they will tell you there’s no better feeling than sitting half an hour after a game knowing you have won. It just makes everything easier.
“We’ve got that taste for winning. We know what it takes. It’s a just a matter of us keeping it going.”
There are various factors which have contributed to Killie’s run.
Clarke’s influence has had a major effect with the club bottom of the Premiership table when he took over 12 months ago and now they’re battling among the elite at the summit.
But players have also taken responsibility.
Stephen O’Donnell’s honest self-analysis after his Scotland outing against Portugal where he took the blame for the loss of a goal is symptomatic of the attitude at Rugby Park where people stand up and take responsibility to do better.
Findlay said: “The manager has installed an attitude in the players that you do have to take responsibility. There are high demands.
“Stephen has gone to the next level with Scotland and it’s important to put demands on to yourself. He was being a bit hard on himself after the Portugal game because he has done amazing in the last 12 months but it’s a good thing to have that desire to improve. It’s a positive and he has it in his locker.
“There’s a mentality when a team isn’t doing well to point fingers and blame others but the important thing is players look at themselves and realise what they can do better.
“It’s not something you install, it comes with winning. It’s easy to have each other’s back when you are winning games but the manager here has installed belief we can win and beat anyone.”
Just over a year ago Findlay was heading out of contract at Newcastle and unsure what his future held.
Now he’s playing for a high-flying team under a top-class manager.
He said: “You always have belief in what you can do, it’s more a case of being unsure how it’s going to go. The last year has been positive. I just hope it continues.”
STUART FINDLAY
P 26 Kilmarnock.. 25 Celtic ............ 25 Hibs .............. 25 Rangers ........ 25 Aberdeen ..... 25 Hearts .......... Pts 52 50 49 47 42 41