Second best is no relief
Steve Clarke admitted he’s set Killie’s standards so high that he wasn’t impressed by a single one of his players despite a point that earned second spot in the Premiership.
Unbeaten in five with 13 points from 15, and now a point clear of Celtic, the Rugby Park side came from behind for the fifth game in a row to earn a result.
But the manager said: “I wasn’t impressed with any of them. Hamilton were g good today. They got the game they wanted, the style of play they wanted. We didn’t impose ourselves on the game, so it’s probably a decent point for us.
“It was scrappy and scruffy but it’s another point and if you had said to me five games ago that we would have 20 points and be sitting second in the league, I would have said ‘ Yeah, okay’.
“When you don’t play well then it’s important that you don’t lose. We didn’t play well today but we didn’t lose.
“That shows a good mentality. That keeps the run going, five games unbeaten. Everybody would have taken that five games ago.”
Scot land defender Stephen O’Donnell, who helped tee up the equaliser before the break, echoed his manager’s critique.
He said: “I don’t think many of us, if any, covered ourselves in glory but it’s a great sign that we can play poorly and come away with a point.
“The performance wasn’t good enough.
“Hamilton are a difficult side to play against. Their free-kick was quality but it was also poor defending.
“We have a game against Rangers on Wednesday, who hopefully will have a tough game in the cup, and we can bounce back.”