Home? It s where all the hurt is
McCulloch orders Killie to end Rugby Park torment
NO ONE at Kilmarnock has to hunt far for a New Year resolution. The incentive stares them in the face every time they come to Rugby Park.
Banishing some truly woeful home form has to be the aim. Gary Locke’s side won just four of the 19 Premiership matches that were played on their artificial pitch across the whole of 2015.
The nature of some of the defeats added further anguish.
Four times this season, Killie have conceded four or more goals in front of their own supporters. Dundee, Ross County, Partick Thistle and Aberdeen have all plundered this corner of Ayrshire with glee.
Assistant manager Lee McCulloch knows fans have suffered through those ‘humiliations’. But he fervently hopes that tomorrow’s visit from a high-flying Hearts side can begin a fresh chapter at the ground as Killie seek to haul themselves out of that perilous 11th place.
‘In the last year and a half, maybe two seasons, for some reason we have not done well at home,’ said former Rangers star McCulloch.
‘You could look at Hamilton Accies as well. They haven’t had a win at home since September, so we are not the only ones.
‘But we are well aware that we need to overcome whatever it is that’s behind our home form.
‘I can’t put my finger on it. The centre-backs are a couple of laid-back big boys, so I wouldn’t say it was down to nerves playing at home. But it’s something as a group that we need to try to get over.
‘To be brutally honest, I’ve never seen a situation like this and that’s why I’m scratching my head about it. This is your home ground and there are no excuses for not making that home advantage count.
‘It’s strange that we have had four heavy defeats in there, too. But we’ve also had some good, convincing wins and some gutsy performances where we’ve been down to 10 men for three quarters of the game and we’ve managed to get a draw.
‘So there are a lot of positives there that we would like to build on.
‘It’s the fans that I feel sorry for because we’ve suffered some humiliating defeats in front of them here but we need them behind our backs to lift the players and to try to give them that extra half yard. Hopefully then the players can put on a good performance for them.’
Kilmarnock recorded a much-needed win against Hamilton at New Douglas Park on Boxing Day before being undone defensively, despite a largely positive display, in their midweek 3-2 away defeat against Ross County. And now McCulloch wants to see much
more of a ruthless streak within a back four that has only kept two clean sheets all season.
Somewhat perplexingly, one of those shut-outs came at Celtic Park at the end of November, with Killie also earning a 2-2 draw when the champions visited Rugby Park in August.
‘It’s mind-boggling when you consider how we can hold Celtic twice but also have these bad results,’ admitted McCulloch.
‘Obviously you try to change your style when you’re away from home, especially at Celtic Park, so to keep a clean sheet there requires a very different style to playing at home.
‘At home, you are expected to come out and win and I don’t think our fans would be happy if we just sat in and didn’t even attempt to attack, hoping to hit on the counter-attack.
‘You are obviously a wee bit more open at home, so maybe that’s something that we’ll look at — to maybe sit in a bit more without going as far as to park the bus.’
Finding the players to halt a Hearts side eagerly chasing Aberdeen for second place is still something of an issue, however, as the Kilmarnock squad remains hit by illness.
‘We couldn’t fill the bench the other night and there will be a few not training today,’ added McCulloch, ‘but we’re hoping that, come Saturday, the situation will be better. We just need to be positive.’