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Seven absent for Kilmarnock Kilmarnock have seven players out for the Clydesdale Bank Premier League visit of Motherwell. Mohamadou Sissoko joins fellow centre-backs Ryan O'Leary (knee) and Manuel Pascali (broken leg) on the sidelines through suspension. Killie are also short in midfield with Dean Shiels suspended, Danny Buijs (hamstring) and David Silva (calf) injured and Liam Kelly unavailable following the death of his father. Midfielder Lee Johnson admits they need to address the less glamorous side of the game following their Hampden triumph over Celtic. Killie's Scottish Communities League Cup success continued their impressive record against the top teams in Scotland this season. Killie held Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, have beaten Rangers home and away, and are unbeaten against Hearts and third-placed Motherwell. But inconsistency leaves them with too much ground to make up on the top six before the split - they sit eight points behind Hearts with three games left. Manager Kenny Shiels feels they have been bullied on occasions and struggled on poor pitches and Johnson admits their aim for the final weeks of the season is to adapt to such challenges. "The gaffer has tried to build a side to play the perfect game and it's not easy to play that against all the sides, and that's whatever league and whatever country you are in," the former Bristol City midfielder said. "We are almost better off playing against the sides who get the ball down and play in front of us. "Then when we nick it, we've got good intricate footballers that can hurt people. "Looking on to next season, that's something we have to adjust to, the way we deal with games on a bobbly pitch and against teams fighting for their lives. "We have to build for next season in terms of the mentality and the way we want to play." Motherwell captain Stephen Craigan will miss out with an Achilles problem. Fellow centre-backs Shaun Hutchinson and Tim Clancy are set to come straight back in following suspension but Keith Lasley remained banned. Long-term injury worry Steven Saunders (Achilles) remains on the sidelines. Manager Stuart McCall has laughed off Shiels' suggestion his depleted side will struggle . "I think Kenny tried a few mind games last week against Celtic and it looks like it worked," McCall said. "I take his point, he has a couple of key men suspended and a couple of injuries. "We're still without (Keith) Lasley, Craigan is still out, Saunders is not back yet. "Last week we had to bring in a couple of (under) 19s boys and the lads certainly rose to the challenge. "I'm sure Kilmarnock have a big enough squad to cover, I don't think they will be bringing kids in. But if they do, they have good youths to come in as well." Killie have performed better against the top sides this season, beating Rangers home and away, leading 3-0 against Celtic in October as well as beating them in the Scottish Communities League Cup final. The Ayrshire side are also unbeaten against top-six sides Motherwell and Hearts. "We've had two really good games against Kilmarnock this season, but both strangely enough finished goalless," McCall said. "Both games could have finished 2-2, both goalkeepers were in fine form. "We're well aware what Kilmarnock can produce on the day. They will probably say they have been a little bit inconsistent, but they have had some wonderful results and won the cup, which is a fantastic achievement. "But if someone were to say we were going to be 20 points ahead of them, I wouldn't have believed it because we are very even as sides and as squads."