Last Saturday was about as bad as it could have been. Not only did we lose and put in a poor performance but the teams round about us picked up points. We're now second bottom and it's not a huge surprise to find us there. Our form at the moment is woeful and the pressure is really on Danny Lennon. We've managed one win since the turn of the year, two in the league in the last three months and just eight in all competitions since we won the League Cup. It's nowhere near good enough and with the disquiet among the support getting louder, a win tomorrow is a must for him as much as it is for our hopes of staying up.
It's the second week running we're up against one of our relegation rivals. This time we're at home but once again three points is an absolute must. Kilmarnock have shown signs of pulling away from the battle to beat the drop at times, but they are very much still in it. Staying up, rather than making the top six, is clearly the priority for both teams and it is a huge match. A win would give us an almost priceless three points hurt one of the other teams in the fight, but a defeat would be pretty disastrous - and could spell the end for Lennon.
Our record against Kilmarnock is vastly in need of an improvement. It was pretty good in Gus MacPherson's final season and in Danny Lennon's second, but since then we've beaten them once - a dead rubber tie at the end of last term. This year we drew with them after Kris Boyd helpfully got himself sent off before he bagged a late winner at New Year. We desperately need to improve on that as if we can't beat the likes of Kilmarnock then we'll probably struggle against the likes of Celtic and Dundee United in the coming weeks.
Killie fans only like Jim Goodwin slightly more than Derek Adams so the good news for them is he's suspended. His current ban will mean he's missed five games of the league season - and we still have another nine to go! He is partly being targeted by referees but he doesn't help himself at times and he's no use to us in the stands. The most straightforward replacement is to bring Marc McAusland into defence, limiting us to just one midfielder at the back if Conor Newton remains at rightback. I felt Jason Naismith deserved to be rested, but I also think it's time he was back in the team.
Adam Campbell scored on his Saints debut against Killie at the start of the year and has generally looked sharp, but he has barely played in the last month. Goodness knows what's going on there as he provides some much needed pace and is an intelligent player. It's surely time for him to start again, with one of Gregg Wylde and Josh Magennis making way. Perhaps the other could also be dropped for Paul McGowan - his relegation to a place on the bench last week seeming to act as a much needed kick up the backside. Eric Djemba-Djemba will continue despite not having shown his class yet, with Stephane Bahoken, Gary Teale and David van Zanten all missing.
It's a bit of a surprise that Allan Johnston is still the manager at Rugby Park. He was appointed in pretty turbulent times after the sacking of Kenny Shiels in the summer and had a horrendous start to his time in charge. He was perhaps lucky in that regard as the Killie chairman may have felt he had to stick with him after making such an unpopular decision. It's paid off for both parties, Killie looking the most likely of the teams at the bottom to avoid a place in the relegation play-offs. Their current form isn't great - they've managed only one more win than ourselves since the turn of the year - but they still have a remote chance of the top six.
There are no prizes for guessing where Killie's main threat will come from tomorrow. Kris Boyd has been terrific this season and is the main reason they aren't bottom of the table (ignoring Hearts). For a club fighting to beat the drop to have a striker on 16 goals is a terrific boost, as was the fact Boyd stayed put during January despite a number of clubs in England wanting to take him. He may be on the move in the summer, but for now his job is firing Kilmarnock to safety - something he's doing rather well. He's also helping the development of Chris Johnston, who is looking a pretty handy winger and claiming some assists thanks to the work of Boyd. Michael Gardyne - on loan from Dundee United - helps link the attack with midfield, while younger players like Rory McKenzie, Greg Kiltie and Robbie Muirhead have looked pretty good too. William Gros seems to have kicked around for a few years without really establishing himself but is handy on occasion.
The curse of the former player usually haunts us more often than not and it could happen again tomorrow. Craig Samson may not have scored against us in January, but he made some terrific saves that kept us out and ensure his side picked up all three points. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a repeat performance from him tomorrow as he looks to frustrate us again, while former Saint Jeroen Tesselaar - complete with face mask - has been used in the centre at times, although leftback Vitaliks Maksimenko has still to make an appearance. An injury to Darren Barr is a bit of a blow for us as he was pretty poor when at Hearts last season, with Lee Ashcroft getting the nod over youngster Mark O'Hara to partner Tesselaar or skipper Manuel Pascali when one of them is used in the middle of the defence. Sean Clohessy has looked decent at times on the right but seems to like getting forward more than defending.
The main piece of transfer business Johnston produced in January was the re-signing of Alexei Eremenko. When he was with Killie during Mixu Paatelainen's time in charge it was clear he should have been playing at a higher level, but has bounced around in Eastern Europe for the last few years. He was woefully short of fitness when he returned, but seems to back up to speed and will be a huge asset in the battle to beat the drop. Playing him in the middle alongside Craig Slater - who had a moan recently about how he was treated when he was with us - is an extremely creative pairing, with skipper Pascali adding a bit of steel when he is deployed in midfield rather than at the back. On-loan Celtic youngster Jackson Irvine and the experienced Barry Nicholson are staying on until the end of the season, although the former is being deployed at rightback more than in midfield. That's partly because Sammy Clingan is preferred there and has been looking pretty handy. David Moberg Karlsson came in on loan from Sunderland in January but has yet to play for the first team.
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