Kyle Vassell is adamant Kilmarnock’s poor away form in the cinch Premiership will not affect their mindset as they bid to defeat Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
The Rugby Park side have not won a single league game on the road this term, with their only victories outside Ayrshire coming in the cup competitions.
Killie will go in as underdogs this weekend against a resurgent Dons side who have won five of their last six games under Barry Robson and 10 of their 15 matches at home this term, but Vassell insists they will head north with confidence.
“I’m not sure,” said the striker when asked why he felt his side had struggled away from home. “We’ve had some big wins on the road against Dundee United and Hearts (in the cups) so we know we can do it.
“Football’s a crazy game, but we’re not really thinking about that. We know we have won on the road and we can win on the road. We’re going to Aberdeen to try and do as well as we can.
“We can’t go there thinking we’ve got no chance. We’re not worried about our away record. We’re just going there to try and win.”
Saturday’s game will see Vassell lock horns with Dons defenders Mattie Pollock and Angus MacDonald, whom he played with at Cheltenham and Rotherham respectively.
The 30-year-old believes Killie can come away with three points if they play with the same intensity and togetherness that helped them defeat third-place Hearts 2-1 at Rugby Park last weekend, despite being down to 10 men for the last half hour following Rory McKenzie’s red card.
“Aberdeen have obviously picked up and are getting results so it’s not going to be easy,” said Vassell. “But if we dig in the way we did against Hearts and play as a team, we know we can win.
“Because we got the win last weekend and because it was such a big result in the way we did it, we’re going there so confident. The way we did it last weekend is the sort of recipe to win games. That win has given us more belief.”
Killie know they are still in a relegation battle but last weekend’s win moved them four points clear of second-bottom Ross County and six ahead of last-placed Dundee United.
“We are looking at the results straight away when we get in the changing room to see how the other teams did,” admitted Vassell.
“We’ve got a little bit of a cushion, a bit of breathing space, but we’re not really talking like that or thinking like that. We’re just trying to win every single game we play.”
