OUR GOALS POST KEEPS ON MOVING
McInnes: You’re never in a comfort zone at Rugby Park.. our target was reaching top 6 but that won’t be enough to satisfy the fans now
WHEN Kilmarnock reported for pre-season training, Derek McInnes told his troops to target a top-six finish.
But the rugby Park boss insists that will no longer satisfy him or the supporters.
Having made so much progress in such a short space of time, Mcinnes now wants to push for a european slot.
This time last season, staying up was the priority for Killie after battling back to the top flight.
They only just avoided being dragged into the relegation play-off spot but it was mission accomplished and Mcinnes has managed to build a much stronger squad.
with only four rounds of fixtures remaining before the split, fifth-placed Kilmarnock look nailed on to reach the goal their gaffer set in the summer. He won’t settle for that though and with fourthplaced St Mirren up next in ayrshire on Saturday, a win would leave fans dreaming of european football.
McInnes said: “If we get into the top six that won’t be enough now.
“There’ll still be a bit of , ‘what’s next?’ You’re never in a comfort zone and neither should we be.
“we have nine meaningful matches to go and this is where we want to be.
“This is what we wanted last year, when we were playing big games for the wrong reason – to avoid relegation.
“This is what we craved for this year. now we’re there and it’s up to us to decide where we want it to go.
“Before we know it the season’s going to be over, we’ll be on our holidays and
looking at next season so i want us to make the most of this one.”
Mcinnes accepts that Stephen robinson’s Saints side will be tough opponents during the run-in, having made the Paisley outfit the benchmark for his squad before a ball had been kicked.
He also reckons matches between the two clubs have become the Premiership’s newest derby.
“it seems to be like that,” he said. “Traditionally, there has always been a big away support and there were huge numbers last season.
“we had a good record against them last season, winning up there and drawing the other in a game we should’ve won.
“St Mirren fans travel here – it’s just down the road for them so there’s obviously something there. we’re similar-sized clubs with similar ambitions, both punching above our weights and trying to keep ourselves above the bigger clubs in Scotland at the minute.
“Both of us are doing good work.
“i used St Mirren as a real reference point for us this season. They had four more wins than us at the split last season which allowed them to be in the top six and, until the last game of the season, they still had an outside chance of getting into europe.
“So we spoke about that, ‘can we be like St Mirren this year?’ Up until now we’ve mirrored a lot of that.
“it’s up to us to keep going and see if we can get the job done. i’ve been pleased that we’re in this position after the number of turnovers we had during the close season.
“we need to try and see the job through while also being quite relaxed about it. This time last season was horrific and no-one from a Killie perspective would want to go through that again.
“it’s important we recognise we have a good team, recognise the efforts of the players, get the fans behind us and see where we go.”
Mcinnes also urged his local heroes not to give up on making Steve clarke’s Scotland squad for euro 2024 after they missed out on selection this week.
“we’ve seen it before – players can get injuries so it’s important our boys concentrate on good performances,” he said.
northern ireland winger Matty Kennedy and Dutch striker Kevin van Veen will miss Saturday’s clash but both should be available after the international break.