Source: FOOTYMAD
Killie's Twin Ambitions
Europe and some silverware will do nicely for Killie Manuel Pascali believes Kilmarnock can achieve their own league and cup double this season - if they can overcome Rangers in the Scottish Cup tonight. At the start of the season, avoiding relegation was the number one priority but their recent impressive run of results sees Kilmarnock sitting fourth in the SPL at the halfway stage, with a European spot now a new target. The Ayrshire club would also love an extended run in the cup as they bid to pick up some silverware this season and Pascali sees no reason why they cannot achieve both ambitions. Killie travel to Ibrox tonight for a fourth-round tie knowing a win would take them a step closer to the trophy. Pascali said: "We know now that we can go out on the pitch and beat anyone. We want to be optimistic. Everybody is dreaming about Europe and trying to win the cup. We know that will be hard but why not? Dreaming doesn't cost you anything so we can dream about it. It was not a lucky draw for us, or for them. Everyone was thinking they would be playing against Second or Third Division teams and that it would be easier. But now we know if we win against Rangers, getting to the semi-final or even the final will be a little bit easier. We are going to go there and try to take a step closer to the cup. We know it will be hard because it's always hard to play at Ibrox. But we are on a good run and we know that we can give them a really hard game. We are going to try to beat them for the first time this season because we have played them three times and got beat three times. It's time to go there and try to win. I think we can do it if we perform like we have done in recent games." Kilmarnock have been one of the surprise packages of the SPL this season, largely thanks to the boost manager Mixu Paatelainen has provided since his arrival in the summer. But, with the memory of last season's relegation battle all too fresh in the memory, Pascali admits ensuring SPL survival as soon as possible is a must before they can really push on this season. He said: "There is a long way to go until the end of this season and anything can happen. We don't want to drop from the fourth position. We will try to do our best. Last year we had 33 points and this year we have 30 points and we are not far from being safe in this league. Hopefully we will do that as soon as possible. Then we will see what we can achieve this season. This game is massive for us because if we get a good result, if we win against Rangers, it means, aside from the other games against Rangers, we are 10 or 11 games without a defeat and that would be massive for our confidence. Now I think is the start of the crucial part of the season and, at the end of this month, we will see what we can achieve in the second half of the season." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba Net
