Higginbotham hopes to pass screen test for bigger picture
KALLUM HIGGINBOTHAM may have been in this movie before but that doesn’t mean he has any idea of how his latest relegation thriller is going to end. Twelve months ago, he was part of the Partick Thistle side which secured their Premiership status with three games to spare, a 3-0 home win over doomed St Mirren guaranteeing they avoided the dreaded play-offs.
This time around, though, he may find he has gone from starring in The Great Escape to appearing in The Departed.
With only five games left (three of them away from home, starting with today’s long haul to Inverness), Kilmarnock trail third-bottom Hamilton by four points.
Their victory over St Johnstone in the final fixture before the split was only their second in the last 12 matches and the spectre of relegation hangs over Rugby Park.
‘I have experience of this from my time at Thistle,’ said Higginbotham. ‘There are also enough boys in that dressing room who have played a lot more games than me and have been in this situation themselves.
‘I don’t need to pass anything on because we all know what it means, not just to the club but to everyone in Kilmarnock and the people behind the scenes. We just can’t afford to go down.
‘If we play as have been playing, I am sure we won’t be relegated at the end of the season.’
Higginbotham also admits that the possibility of job losses for backroom and office staff in the event of demotion only adds to the pressure on manager Lee Clark and his players. ‘There is a big picture to look at,’ said the 26-year-old. ‘You don’t really think about it around Christmas time because you have it in your head that there are so many games left then for you to get out of trouble.
‘But, as it gets closer, the realisation hits home. It’s not just about the players, it’s about everyone who works at the club as well — their livelihoods.
‘We are responsible for them in a way and the boys have taken that on board. The gaffer has drilled home to us that it’s not just about us and I think you have seen that in our recent performances.
‘Obviously, it should be like that all season. It hasn’t been but, hopefully, we can put that right. It is a lot to take on your shoulders.
‘This stuff isn’t in your head when playing a game, it’s when you come off after a defeat and, as you get close to the end of the season, you start to realise that there are a lot more people involved than just us players.
‘However, if we keep playing how we have been, I am pretty sure that not just our jobs will be safe but everyone else at the club will be as well.’
Higginbotham also believes that he can supply the bullets which born-again Kris Boyd can use to fire the Ayrshire club to safety.
‘We have now played three games on the trot together and have started to build up an understanding,’ he said.
‘Hopefully, we can play again in Inverness and we can get a few more goals. It’s always good to get Kris scoring — he’ll always find the back of the net if you pick him out.’
Higginbotham has also adopted a new look for the run-in, with a Mohican haircut which matches his warrior mood.
‘The sun is out, so I thought I would do something different,’ he said. ‘I’ve taken stick but I can take it.’
Inverness captain Gary Warren believes his team will have to adopt their own warrior attitude next season with the return of Rangers — and possibly Hibs — meaning staying in the top tier will be a much tougher proposition.
That’s why he has urged the club’s financiers to loosen their purse strings to ensure last season’s Scottish Cup winners continue to prosper.
Manager John Hughes confesses to not knowing the exact budget that is in place to facilitate his signing ambitions, pointing out that the size of the war chest will depend on where the team finishes in the Premiership.
But while expressing a complete understanding of the financial constraints of a club that averages around 3,000 fans, Hughes also stressed the need to bring in new faces.
Warren is in complete agreement, saying: ‘The most important thing for this club is to keep improving and to do that we need to bring in players to add to what we’ve got to make the squad stronger.
‘Next season will probably be the toughest league it’s been for a while when you look at Rangers, and maybe also Hibs, coming up, so we need to be at a level where we can still compete.
‘Personally, I relish the increased competition. The big teams will only raise your game and level of performance, and if that doesn’t happen you’ll quickly be found out.’