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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Lochlin Highet

Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes addresses transfer ambitions and Jordan Jones rumours

Derek McInnes admits all he has the chance to think about is Kilmarnock's squad rebuild.

The Rugby Park boss is aiming to pull together a team that can compete in the Scottish Premiership.

He has already added Alan Power, Kerr McInroy, Lewis Mayo, Zach Hemming and Liam Donnelly – but he admits he's after at least four or five more stars.

His side gear up to take on Fraserburgh tomorrow as they kick-off their Premier Sports Cup campaign at Bellslea Park, and although he thinks the basis of a solid squad are there, he knows improvements can be made.

McInnes said: “Last thing at night, first thing in the morning, you think about it.

“You know what you’ve still got to do.

“But I’ve got to take myself back to when I first came into the club.

“At that point, it was about where we wanted to be and that was the Premiership.

“We’re there now and we’ve got to try and enjoy it. We have to try and enjoy the work we’re trying to do.

“If I was told, in January when I came in, that I’d have Kyle Lafferty, Ash Taylor, Liam Donnelly and Alan Power – boys who were familiar to me – then I’d feel good about that.

“It makes us better, so while you still see what you’ve got to do, it’s also important to remember what you’ve done.

“I certainly don’t think there’s any panic.

“That’s not to say things aren’t pressing – we have work to do and we’ve got to try to get on with it.

“Any player I sign between now and the window closing would be to try and get into the starting XI, giving us extra quality in the side.

“I am delighted with the players we have but I still feel this window in particular is about the here and now.

“We are still playing catch-up from being a Championship team but it’s nothing we can’t overcome, we will put a squad together to be competitive.”

Jordan Jones has been linked with a move back to Rugby Park (SNS Group)

Rumours of a move for former Rugby Park favourite Jordan Jones has been doing the rounds, McInnes refused to be drawn on that chatter but admits he is looking to bring in someone with similar qualities to the Northern Ireland star.

He said: “There’s nothing I can specifically say about that.

“What we are looking for is players with speed, ball carriers, people who can be a bit more creative.

“We’ve had numerous conversations with a lot of players and clubs. It’s not easy to get players at any time but we’ve made a case and showed players that we are a good club. As weeks go on players who maybe didn’t think Killie was an option may just change their mind.”

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