Brad Lyons is praying that home comforts can help Kilmarnock claw their way clear of the relegation playoff position, as the midfielder declared that he and his teammates are up for the scrap over the last five games of the season.
The post-split fixtures will be announced early this week, with Killie due to have three games at Rugby Park having played 17 of their 33 fixtures so far away from home.
The importance of having those three matches on their own patch isn’t lost on Lyons, who skippered Killie as they went down to a disappointing 5-1 defeat at Celtic Park at the weekend.
Lyons is hoping that those home fixtures, as well as the experience the majority of the team have from being in a similar position to this a couple of seasons ago, will be enough to get them over the line and secure their place in the Premiership for next season.
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“Nobody likes coming to Rugby Park and playing on our pitch, so hopefully that can work to our advantage,” Lyons said.
“We train on it every day, so we’re used to it.
“But our fans also count for so much. They’re top notch and they back us massively in these big games.
“We still feel positive, we know we can do it. We were in this position a couple of years ago and got ourselves out of it.
“We have a great group of lads in the changing room and a manager who knows what it’s all about.
“Our fans will get right behind us, especially in the home games after the split. We are ready for the fight.
“It’s not just about having good players in times like this. It’s also about mentality and handling the pressure.
“I think we’ve got that. We’ve got a great team spirit. We want to play in high-pressure games as players, so bring it on.
“I don’t think the style of football will be too pretty over these next few weeks. It’s never pretty in these relegation battles. You need to roll up your sleeves.
“It’s disappointing to be in this position. The aim was top six, especially after last season and getting into Europe.
“You saw the connection we had with the fans on the back of that. The whole club was buzzing.
“The time for reflection will come after the season is over. We need to make sure we are ready for a fight over the next few weeks to make sure we stay in this league.”
There was little of the defensive discipline and fight that Killie have shown under McInnes on display during the first half of their loss to Celtic, with the rampant champions four goals to the good after just 23 minutes.
They managed to steady the ship though and stem the bleeding with a solid second half performance, and Lyons thinks that will be the blue print to get them through the closing weeks of the season.
“Celtic scored some really good goals, but we stood off them a bit too much.
“We spoke at half-time and made it clear we can’t afford to concede any more of those types of goals.
“The gaffer asked us at half-time to go out and keep a clean sheet in the second half. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite manage to do that, but we were certainly much more solid.
“There were positives for us in the second half. We were more of a unit. We need to take that moving forward.
“The first half wasn’t like us at all. It was a real off-day for us in that regard, so we just need to park it and move on.
“It’s back to the drawing board, but it’s not something we’re going to dwell too much on. There’s still so many big games coming up over the next few weeks.”
