Source: Team_Talk
'Gaffer' back to lead Kilmarnock
Star striker Kyle will return to the starting line-up for Saturday's clash with Rangers after a brief spell on the sidelines following cartilage surgery.[LNB]The 28-year-old's burgeoning reputation as Killie's talisman has grown in his absence, with Jim Jefferies' men having lost their last two games.[LNB]And Kyle's team-mates have begun giving him the kind of respect usually reserved for boss Jefferies.[LNB]"My team-mates love it to be honest because they think I'm the manager!" Kyle said of the attention he has received since joining Killie in January.[LNB]"If he leaves his job, they think that I'm just going to take over.[LNB]"I think they're quite looking forward to that to be honest!"[LNB]Kyle, who has scored 11 goals in 16 games, has been credited with being the difference between victory and defeat for Killie.[LNB]"I don't really believe that," said Kyle, who has turned the perception of him as a sluggish, shot-shy forward on its head.[LNB]"Because I've been the main one scoring the goals for Kilmarnock, a lot of people think that I'm the difference.[LNB]"I'm not because the players have to create the chances and I'm that eager to get in the box and get on the end of them, because there's nothing better than picking the papers up on a Monday morning and you're getting an eight or nine out of 10 and you're the headline.[LNB]"I've been at the other end of that scale when you pick up the papers on the Monday morning and you've got a three and they tell you that you were absolutely hopeless."[LNB]Those were the kind of marks Killie captain Kyle was getting while down in England and he credits his change of fortune to his new team-mates, describing them as the kind of men he would proudly lead into battle.[LNB]"I've never come to a club with such a good set of lads," he said.[LNB]"They're really, really down to earth, honest, hardworking.[LNB]"If I went to war, I would take them with me.[LNB]"You couldn't ask for a better bunch of guys and I'm the one who's getting all the plaudits because of them.[LNB]"I'm not exactly picking the ball up 40 yards out and beating 10 men and burying it.[LNB]"They're crossing the balls in and setting up the chances, so I cannot thank them enough and they've just got to keep it going.[LNB]"If they stop doing it, that's when they feel the wrath of the big man!"[LNB]Kyle failed to elaborate on whether he was referring to himself or Jefferies, who will expect the striker to exploit any weaknesses in the Rangers rearguard on Saturday.[LNB]Captain David Weir is an injury doubt for the visitors, who will definitely be without the suspended Madjid Bougherra.[LNB]Kyle said: "I've played against him before and he is very good, so it is a bit of a bonus.[LNB]"It's something I might try to exploit; it just depends how the game pans out."[LNB]Kyle now plans to recapture the form that earned him a recall to the Scotland squad before he was ruled out through injury.[LNB]He said: "When I did get picked, I got picked on my form, because I was scoring goals and I was playing well.[LNB]"So if I can continue doing that from now to when the next Scotland squad gets picked before the Japan game then hopefully I'll get picked again."[LNB][LNB] Rangers 4/9, Draw 16/5, Kilmarnock 7/1
