KRIS BOYD could have been forgiven for treating every Josh Magennis goal with mixed emotions in recent weeks. The joy of the benefit for Kilmarnock has not been diminished by a personal frustration, though.
With seven goals from 17 outings for club and country, Magennis has emerged as one of the surprise success stories in Scottish football this season. He is silencing his personal critics, has helped Northern Ireland reach the European Championships next summer and played a key role in reversing Kilmarnock’s barren run of form.
The 2-1 victory at Dens Park on Saturday, in which Magennis’ ninth minute opener was followed up by Steven Smith, was the fourth in seven outings for Gary Locke’s side. The Rugby Park boss found himself under increasing pressure at the start of the campaign but time has helped him cure the ills of his side. It is a surprise that it is not Boyd who has provided the goals for Killie’s recovery, but the 32-year-old is pleased to see his fellow forward making the most of his opportunity, and converting his chances.
"Josh has to praise himself,” Boyd said. “The turnaround in the last few months has been unbelievable. He is a pest. He is always asking questions, he always wants to know things - but you don't mind it when it's in a good way.
"Josh wants to improve, he wants to get better and you need to take your hat off to him. From where he's been to what he is doing now, going to the Euros next summer, it's unbelievable. It's something you dream of and it's happened for him. The hard work he has put in behind the scenes has paid off.
“I've been over the course and distance before. When you are sitting waiting for a chance and somebody on the pitch isn't doing it, it's different.
"But Josh has been excellent, he's done really well and is one of the biggest reasons why the season has turned around in recent weeks. Stevie Smith going into the middle of the park and getting around, the two wingers, the creativity of Higgy (Kallum Higginbotham), Rory McKenzie and Greg Kiltie have supplied big Josh. He is scoring goals and that's excellent for the club.”
Having hauled themselves away from the foot of the Premiership standings, Kilmarnock are now within touching distance of the top six. It was a berth they coveted in the summer when Locke overhauled his squad and is one they could secure if they can avoid a return to the form that saw them collect just two points from the first 18 available this season.
The endeavours of Locke, his staff and his players have paid off. So too has the patience of those that are calling the shots at Rugby Park, and could have wielded the axe under increasing pressure.
"Credit to the board because it would have been pretty easy to get rid of him as everyone else started firing managers round about us,” Boyd said. "But they stood by him and you can see the hard work and effort that is being put in on the training field.
"It's hard sometimes when you take in so many new bodies at the start of the season and they have to gel straight away. We always knew we had a squad that could mount a challenge towards the top six and we are getting there.
"We are in a position to challenge now and that hard work is a credit to the manager and coaching staff. The big thing has been a settled team. The manager has been able to work with a starting eleven and we've had results off the back of it.”
A League Cup loss to Hearts and narrow defeat to in-form Hamilton Accies last month didn’t derail Kilmarnock and they can now head into the coming weeks with confidence. A run of fixtures against Motherwell, St Johnstone, Celtic, Partick Thistle and Dundee United offer varying opportunities to add points to their tally.
It is a sequence Boyd, with just two goals to his credit so far, will look to play a part in. It is the effort of the team that is most important, though.
"It would have been easy for the boys to separate and go our own way when results weren't coming,” Boyd said. "But we stayed together, the players and coaching staff, and the hard core set of fans. They have been behind us, they were excellent at Dens on Saturday and that's what a club like Kilmarnock needs. We need everyone pulling in the same direction and hopefully that continues in the coming weeks.”
*Willie Miller, Pat Bonnar, Kris Boyd and Murdo MacLeod were promoting a new Ladbrokes ’Track Your Acca’ app which allows punters to track their bets and cash out on the go - for full details log on to thegrid.ladbrokes.com
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