Paatelainen not altering target

03 December 2010 17:30

Mixu Paatelainen insists his battle to keep Kilmarnock in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League this season is not over yet despite successfully transforming the fortunes of the club so far.

The Rugby Park side have flirted with relegation in recent seasons and only managed to secure their SPL safety on the final day last term. Since then, Paatelainen has taken over the helm and earned plaudits for his attractive brand of football, as well as taking Kilmarnock to sixth in the table at the moment.

Paatelainen said: "We will try to do as well as we can. The targets for the season have not changed, we want to stay up in the league and hopefully we can do that comfortably."

Recent form suggests they could be pushing for a European berth, rather than fighting the drop, this time around but the Killie boss claims his priorities have not changed.

Paatelainen said: "Understandably, people were tipping us to fight against relegation and it's not over yet. We are not even halfway through the season yet. Our target is to survive the SPL comfortably. Whatever position that may be in, we don't know."

The efforts of his players have not gone unnoticed, with on-loan Metalist Kharkiv midfielder Alexei Eremenko being named Clydesdale Bank Premier League player of the month for November.

With seven goals last month, striker Conor Sammon may feel aggrieved that he missed out on the prize but, as far as Paatelainen is concerned, their success has been down to a collective effort from the whole team.

He said: "Conor is a player who has benefited from Alexei's passing ability. He is the player who has put the ball in the net and I'm sure he is pleased with his month. But it's a team effort - it's not just Alexei and Conor. The other players are making an effort to get on the ball and they're helping those two play well. It is a team effort."

Paatelainen revealed that contract talks with Sammon remain ongoing but had nothing to report for now.

He added: "Talks aren't too far along, we are just at the initial stage. He still has one season after this one remaining. We would like to work with Conor longer, he is a player who works very hard and does good things on the pitch. I feel there is plenty more development in Conor so hopefully we can sort out the contract and keep working."

Source: PA