Coming to a head
Eremenko saves Killie then raises exit threat
EVEN amid the internecine strife, unbridled joy and sweet relief, there was no missing Alexei Eremenko’s remarkable personal contribution to Kilmarnock’s survival story at Firhill.
On any given Saturday, four assists in one match would have been a monumental individual contribution. For the Russian-born Finn’s intervention to come as many at Rugby Park were bracing themselves for the play-offs was nothing short of extraordinary.
His input not only eased the Ayrshire men to a first win in e i ght t hat cemented their topflight status for another year, it allowed manager Gary Locke to make light of the staggering firsthalf dust-up between Josh Magennis and Jamie Hamill that s aw t he Ir i s hman press his forehead into that of his team-mate.
Referee John Beaton, something of an expert on such matters after being head-butted by a player in Saudi Arabia last week, seemed genuinely stunned by what was unfolding before his eyes and took no action. I t would be somewhat surprising if the compliance officer is similarly minded this week.
For now, though, Locke is entitled to reflect with a modicum of satisfaction on a wearying battle finally won.
Notwithstanding the disgraceful conduct of his main striker — an incident that ought to have seen the visitors play a man light for the majority of this vital match — his side belatedly f ound the right combination of endeavour, guile and, yes, fight to see them over the line.
But just as one scrap is drawing to a close for the Rugby Park manager, another is brewing.
Reflecting on the four assists which put Partick and, by extension, Motherwell to the sword, Eremenko shared Locke’s view that staying up by the skin of their teeth was ill-befitting a club of Kilmarnock’s standing. Yet, in t erms of a philosophy on how the club should progress next season, it is clear the hugely talented 32-year-old, who is out of contract this summer, is somewhat distant from his manager.
‘Against Thistle, we showed what we can do when we do things right,’ he said. ‘Looking ahead to next season, there are many things that I need to think about. My concern up until now was to help Killie stay up and, thank God, I was able to do that. Now we’ll see what can happen.
‘One thing is for sure, though, I need to know what style of football Killie intend to play next year. If it’s a style that doesn’t suit me and I stay here, that would be no use for them or me. ‘They would be wasting their money on me and I would be wasting my last years on the bench. I hope that they decide to pass the ball and play the kind of football that gets the best from me. If not, then I will not stay and it would probably be better that way.’
It’s not just opposing managers upon whom Eremenko can inflict sleepless nights. For those who pay his wages, the requirement is continually to balance his peerless ability on the ball with a lack of work off it.
In a relegation scrap, when you need all pistons pumping, t he easier decision is to go with legs. Locke bit the bullet in Maryhill, however, and how he was rewarded. It was Er e menko’ s heat-seeking 40-yard diagonal ball that helped edge the visitors ahead. Greg Kiltie pipped Callum Booth to the ball and, despite being initially fouled outside the box, was given a penalty on the linesman’s say-so. Having smashed his first effort straight into Scott Fox’s frame, Hamill did the necessary from the rebound.
Tope Obadeyi was the beneficiary of Eremenko’s precision delivery either side of the interval. His first, a bulleted header from a corner, called for not one but two tops to be removed in celebration. The second, another clinical header following a disputed free-kick, put the game out of reach.
All of which left Partick feeling rather sorry for themselves. Aside from the fact Magennis should, by rights, have been sent packing earlier for his spat with Hamill over the Irishman’s concession of a free-kick, the Jags’ display was rather ill-deserving of such a whipping.
Conrad Balatoni lent a degree of accuracy to the scoreline by heading home Kallum Higginbotham’s corner but, somewhat inevitably, Magennis had the last say with a cute finish between Fox’s legs after being rolled in by you know who.
‘Four assists, yes, but we had good movement right from the first goal,’ Eremenko reflected. ‘I said a few weeks ago that the best way for us to get out of this was to avoid the long balls and play to feet.
‘My thinking is that the next contract I sign will be my last one and I don’t want to spend the final years of my career not enjoying my football.
‘I want to be happy out there. I’m not the kind of player who likes to try to win second balls and I don’t like to look at it flying over my head.
‘So we’ll need to see but I’m sure Gary Locke knows my qualities and, in training at least, we’re trying to pass it. I don’t know what happens sometimes when we play games.’
Despite the flatness of losing their final home game so comprehensively, Thistle have no reason for reproach over the course of the campaign.
Safe by a distance with several games t o go f or t he second successive season, they will have loftier ambitions next term.
Yet, with Stephen O’Donnell, Fox, Stevie Lawless, Higginbotham and Balatoni all yet to commit for next term, the danger for boss Alan Archibald is obvious.
‘We are certainly hoping to make the top six in the Premiership next season,’ said defender Frederic Frans. ‘But it is important that they stay on and help us keep this group together.
‘This is a group who are close on and off the pitch as we are friends and, even in training, we fight for each other as everybody wants to win.
‘ We s howed t hose battling qualities in the past month or so, but we have also proved that we can play football, too. That is why it is vital to keep this team together.’