‘We could have beaten Celtic and Rangers’

Any manager taking over a club at the foot of the Premiership who emerges unscathed from his opening two fixtures, particularly when they were at Ibrox and Parkhead, would be entitled to pat himself on the back, writes Ewing Grahame.

It says much for the perfectionism of Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke, then, that he was dissatisfied with those 1-1 draws, even though his new charges came from behind in each game.

The former West Bromwich Albion and Reading boss believes both of those matches were winnable and he certainly expects his side to be capable of taking full points from Hibs at Rugby Park for the first time since August 2011 when the sides meet tonight.

“We could have had more points but, in terms of performance, we were excellent,” he said. “The boys have taken on board one or two different ideas and, by and large, I have to be happy with them.

“I’m an optimistic chap and like to think you can go into any game with a chance to win. I think, over those two games, there were possibilities we could have taken more points. You have to go in with a level of ambition.”

Kilmarnock’s home form has been dreadful (they’ve won only eight of their last 46 against top-tier opponents) and Clarke added: “It’s something we have to address as quickly as possible and we have a great chance against Hibs to get a home win on the board.”