Source: Team_Talk
Jefferies backs Killie to beat drop
Killie's 2-0 defeat at Inverness on Saturday means they are just five points clear of bottom side Falkirk, but the Rugby Park gaffer insists he has got enough spirit and fight in his squad to stay up.[LNB]He said: "We're in a battle with five or six clubs down there. You ask if the players are ready for such a battle, but you couldn't deny that against Inverness as there was no lack of effort.[LNB]"It's a game we should have won because it's the best we've played here this season.[LNB]"We should have maybe been latching on to the ball better when it came into the area, they always seemed first to the ball and that was the difference."[LNB]Killie have now lost twice in the league this season in the Highlands, but Jefferies saw a big improvement.[LNB]He explained: "Of our last three games up here, that's the best we have played, but when you get three golden opportunities to stick the ball in the net in the first 10 minutes and don't take them, you can be punished.[LNB]"The wind died down in the second half when we thought we would have more of an advantage, but Inverness had the wind in the first half and that assisted the free-kick which deceived (goalkeeper) Alan Combe.[LNB]"We put Inverness under so much pressure in the second half.[LNB]"Inverness were putting so many bodies behind the ball from throw-ins and corners that we were looking for a wee break to land for us but we never got that today.[LNB]"There was plenty of battling qualities and we fought hard."[LNB]He added: "Our problem this season is that we haven't had that scoring instinct that we have had in previous seasons. We pushed hard in the second half to try and get something from the game, but Alan Combe didn't really have a save to make."[LNB]Meanwhile, Inverness boss Terry Butcher was delighted to have come through this test and turned the heat on rival clubs.[LNB]He said: "We achieved our aim of closing the gap on Kilmarnock to one point, knowing that Kilmarnock have to play Falkirk before the split.[LNB]"This result gives other teams problems. It's probably beyond our wildest dreams to be able to peg back teams other than Falkirk.[LNB]"We were five points behind Falkirk when we took over because we played Celtic on the Sunday and now we are four points ahead, that's a nine-point swing. According to Peter Snow, that would indicate a pretty good swing![LNB]"Even at 2-0 up, it wasn't easy and I was thinking 'dare we get a third' because we were not playing particularly well at that stage. Their goal just before half-time was a real slap in the face for us, but the players were focused in the second half."[LNB]Inverness head to Falkirk next Saturday for another crunch game and Butcher added: "We're four clear of them now and we can go and try and get revenge for the Scottish Cup defeat here last week.[LNB]"We can go there with confidence because we know that next weekend we can't go bottom of the league, which is a lovely thing to say at this stage.[LNB]"Everybody in this squad in pitching in for the cause and I'm delighted with that. We have a winning, battling style at the moment. I know it's not pretty, but we've won our last two SPL games, against Rangers and now Kilmarnock, so we'll go to Falkirk with the belief."[LNB][LNB]
