Killie Boosted By Calderwood

Published: 20 Feb 2010 - 12:50:45

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Other sides hate when a new manager arrives at a club they are due to face as the opposition always get a boost. Kilmarnock play St Mirren at Rugby Park today and will have Manuel Pascali back after the Italian utility player recovered from a leg injury which saw him miss last week`s win over St Johnstone. Frazer Wright (ankle), Ryan O'Leary (knee) and Allan Russell (thigh) are still on the road to full recovery as they are back in training but the visit of the Buddies comes too early for them to be involved. Buddies manager Gus MacPherson will be without defender Jack Ross as he will be out for several weeks with ankle ligament damage. MacPherson also has a number of players carrying bumps and bruises but he hopes they will all be fit. Defender Chris Innes is not surprised that Kilmarnock have found a new lease of life under Jimmy Calderwood. Saints have beaten Killie three times this season already but travel to face a team buoyed since new manager Calderwood took over from Jim Jefferies in January. The Ayrshire men are unbeaten in their last six games including a 1-0 win over Celtic, their first home victory over the Hoops in nine years. Former Kilmarnock player Innes feels "new manager syndrome'' affects all workplaces, not just the football dressing room. He said: "When things aren't going well at a club and the manager gets sacked, the players maybe feel very down and everything is negative. When the new manager comes in, he is full of new ideas and it lifts you. It lifts you in any line of work. If the manager has a big personality then, as a player, it's great to feed off and you respond to that. Jimmy Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl are an exceptional management team, very experienced and by all accounts very good to work for. I don't know him personally but I'm sure Jimmy Calderwood is a very good motivator and tactically aware. He's been abroad and he certainly knows his business. They obviously have had a great response but at the same time we are going there in a positive fashion, we have beaten them three times and we should be confident. We are working hard, playing good football at times and we have Billy Mehmet and Michael Higdon scoring goals." Innes, who scored the only goal of the game when the sides met in January, is not concerned about personal glory this time around. He said: "I scored the winner against them the last time so it would be nice to get another but ultimately it is about concentrating on getting a clean sheet and defending. It's a very tight league and it's the old cliche, anybody can beat anybody else, if you perform well." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba Net

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