McInnes wants Kilmarnock to make the most of home comfort

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes believes his players are ready to home in on preserving their Premiership status.

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Livingston at Rugby Park lifted Kilmarnock out of the relegation zone and maintained their impressive form on their own pitch.

They have collected 29 of their 34 points so far this season from home fixtures. With two of their three remaining games at Rugby Park, starting against St Johnstone next Saturday, their fate is firmly in their own hands.

“The confidence we feel at home is clear to see,” said McInnes. “We have now beaten every team in the league apart from the Old Firm at Rugby Park this season.

“We now have to focus on the next two home games. We don’t want to play the situation, we want to play the games.”

After a nervy first half, Kilmarnock took the lead through Kyle Vassell’s 48th-minute strike before Danny Armstrong’s penalty sealed the points.

“If I get a 90-minute performance of what we produced in the second half against Livingston, we’ll be fine,” added McInnes. “I’m pretty sure of that. But a 90-minute performance of the first half won’t get the job done.

“In the first half, we were too pumped up and rushed everything. Half-time couldn’t come quickly enough.

“I didn’t think we were terrible, we still had the best chance of the first half. But there were poor decisions and sloppy clearances, we looked agitated.

“We had a good chat at half-time – no ranting or raving, just a reminder that we are better than we were showing.

“The players deserve all the credit. Knowing how much is at stake, they dealt with it in the second half. I’m sure they will deal with it going forward and it’s important we take that into the remaining games.”

Livingston manager David Martindale has urged his players to get back to basics after a fifth defeat in the last six games saw them slip to eighth place in the table.

“Right now, there are certain individuals within the group who are not doing their jobs properly,” said Martindale.

“The foundations of Livingston are built on people doing the basics right. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s my job to find the solution and I will find the solution. I will take that on the chin.

“There is an element within the group with boys who are not going to be here next season for different reasons and they know they are safe in terms of relegation.

“But in the last two or three games, the opposition have shown more desire to do the basics of football better than we are doing.”