Steve Clarke pep talk inspires Kilmarnock to victory over Partick
Kilmarnock caretaker manager Paul McDonald credited new boss Steve Clarke's team-talk for sparking the Rugby Park men to their first win of the season.
The former West Brom and Reading manager was confirmed as Lee McCulloch's successor only a few hours before they took on Partick Thistle at the Energy Check Stadium.
While Clarke let academy director McDonald take charge of the side at Firhill as he watched from the directors box, he did address the Killie squad beforehand.
And McDonald believes his stirring message was just what the players needed as they grabbed a deserved 2-0 win thanks to Kris Boyd and Adam Frizzell's strikes.
It was a thrill to get the three points,'' said the stand-in boss.As a team we're over the moon.
Credit to the players for getting the win today. I just don't think previously results had gone their way but today we got the goal and then carried on the pressure into the second half.
The new manager gave the players a pep talk before the game at our pre-match meal and it worked wonders.
Steve Clarke is a massive name in the game, and it shows how ambitious our club is to appoint somebody of his stature. It's credit to our directors and we're thrilled.
He met the players at the pre-match meal at the hotel in the morning. He said, 'Good luck and the real work starts today at three o'clock'.
Now I'm happy to go back in the shadows again.''
The result lifts Killie off bottom spot but heaps fresh pressure on Thistle boss Alan Archibald.
Boyd stroked home five minutes before the break after a Niall Keown mistake while Frizzell ripped an unstoppable 25-yard drive home for the second after 63 minutes.
Archibald's injury-hit team now prop up the Ladbrokes Premiership and remain without a win from nine games.
Jags were booed off at the end of both halves and their manager could not argue with the fans' angry response.
He said: The injuries are a big thing, but I'm not going to use it as an excuse.
The starting eleven is good enough to go and win the game. The injuries are a problem because they are all in the same areas, full-backs and midfielders, but we've got to soldier on.
There's enough quality in that team to go out and win that game.
''The fans have been brilliant, they deserve to boo, they've just lost 2-0 at home in a massive game.
They get impatient and rightly so. Players are paid to take the ball under pressure, so I've nothing to say to the fans.''