Johnston wants more passion from players

Kilmarnock boss Allan Johnston hopes the fighting spirit shown by rowing pair Mark Connolly and Jamie Hamill will help his side battle their way to a top-six finish.

Connolly and Hamill squared up to each other last week at Firhill as Partick nearly grabbed a late winner.

But Johnstone says he was pleased to see his players go head to head - because it proves how much they care about Killie's cause.

The 1-1 draw in Glasgow halted the Rugby Park side's five game run of defeats and keeps them in the top half of the Premiership table.

The manager said: I wasn't bothered by the players having a row. It shows there is a bit of desire there.

The boys were really disappointed with the run of results we have had. But they have worked ever harder to make sure we get back to where we want to be.

So you could see how much it meant to those two players when they had that spat.

They are desperate to turn round our fortunes after a difficult couple of weeks. That's the kind of spirit we need.

It was the sort of thing I did during my playing days too. I was a bit of a moaner to be fair.

It's good to see and hopefully we can transfer that passion into our displays.''

Killie's last win was against St Johnstone in mid-October.

They take on the Perth outfit again at home on Saturday but know defeat will see Saints leapfrog them into the top six.

Johnston said: It was great to stop that run of defeats with the point last week. It gives us a wee bit of confidence going into what will be a very hard game at home.

We're still in the top six and our target is to stay there. We know it is going to be really difficult. We know the sides beneath us will be trying hard to catch us up. But we can't just be looking behind us. We need to push on and try and catch the teams above us.''

James McFadden is fast becoming Tommy Wright's most potent weapon after netting twice in his last three outings.

However, the former Scotland forward's history of knee problems mean he is not guaranteed to feature on the plastic pitch at Rugby Park this weekend.

Johnston, however, is taking nothing for granted.

James is a top player, so if some of their best players are out that is a good thing for us,'' he said.But we have got to concentrate on our own players.

We can't look at the pitch and think it guarantees us victory. It didn't happen with Dundee or Ross County, so I don't think it makes that much of a difference.''