Bruce begs boss for a base to build upon
Killie veteran targets a run in first team
ALEX BRUCE has pleaded with manager Angelo Alessio to give him a fair crack at building on Kilmarnock’s impressive run of clean sheets and nailing down a regular place in the side.
The 35-year-old centre-back has been involved in six of the eight shut-outs the Rugby Park men have recorded in their last ten games and played the last 65 minutes of the weekend win over St Mirren after replacing hamstring-injury victim Stuart Findlay.
With Dario del Fabro also struggling to make Wednesday’s trip to Motherwell as a result of hamstring trouble, Bruce hopes this will prove to be his chance to establish himself in the side in the wake of a frustrating period for the defender.
‘Has a door opened? I don’t know. You’d have to ask the manager,’ he said. ‘There’s been a few times this season when I feel like I’ve done enough to keep my place. We’ve kept clean sheets and won games, then it has changed the following week.
‘Has it been frustrating? Yeah. Every player wants to play and I’m no different.
‘It’s difficult when you get to my age — when you have to come in, play once every three, four weeks and then you’re out and then you’re in.
‘You want to go to games to show what you can do. It’s very difficult to judge someone in one game and then you are out for three or four weeks.
‘You can really judge a player over five or six games and, hopefully, I can get a long run in the team and see what happens.
‘No matter what team or back four has been picked, we’ve kept a lot of clean sheets.
‘It’s a mixture of organisation and good players. Stu and Dario have done well, but keeping a clean sheet is a joint effort.
‘You need a rigid shape and then you play from that shape. Once you get that sorted, you have a chance to nick ugly games like we did here.’
This was certainly no classic between two well-drilled teams lacking real cutting edge going forward.
Saints had a great opportunity with 20 minutes left — and the game tied at 0-0 — when Jon Obika played in Tony Andreu with a clever through ball.
The Frenchman, under pressure from a last-gasp tackle from Del Fabro, screwed his effort wide of Laurentiu Branescu’s right-hand post.
Eight minutes later, the visitors — who had kept Killie at bay all afternoon with some impressive organisation of their own — switched off and paid the penalty.
Chris Burke sent in a corner from the right and captain Gary Dicker, having moved away from marker Sam Foley, converted with a header for his second goal in two weeks.
Dicker went into the backline shortly afterwards as a result of Del Fabro’s removal from the play and Bruce insists there will be no issue should they be forced to renew that partnership at Fir Park.
‘I played at the back with Gary once before, last season against at Celtic. We both played well that day,’ he recalled.
‘Gaz is that sitting midfielder who can slot into the centreback position and give you that bit of composure on the ball.
‘If he plays at centrehalf, I am sure it won’t be a problem.’
For Saints’ captain Stephen McGinn, it was another afternoon of ‘what-ifs’ following a fourth league game in five in which the Buddies have failed to find the net. ‘We spoke before the game and said it would probably be that the first goal is the winner,’ said McGinn. ‘Tony’s chance was a big moment and you are standing behind him begging for the ball to go in.
‘I felt we played well. We went toeto-toe with the team who are third in the league and it was a real sickener.
‘If you had offered me the quality of chances we had, I’d have snapped your hand off. Then, ultimately, they score from a free header inside the box.
‘Sam’s been caught underneath it. I’ve been there loads of times myself, so we don’t blame him, in the same way we don’t blame Tony.’
McGinn takes heart from the defensive solidity St Mirren are showing, though, and they will certainly need that in the lions’ den of Celtic Park on Wednesday evening.
‘It’s hugely encouraging because we could not keep clean sheets last season,’ he said. ‘It gives midfielders and strikers the confidence to go and try and get goals knowing it’ll win games. ‘It’s not easy to create chances and score goals in this league. ‘That’s why these 15-goals-a-season strikers don’t last long up here if you can get hold of one.’