KILMARNOCK have left it awfully late to make a fresh start. But on the evidence of Saturday's play-off eliminator in Hamilton, it might just have occurred in the nick of time.

The match was scheduled to start at 3pm but thanks to Kris Boyd it became something of an early kick-off. The veteran striker took it upon himself to give a pre-match pep talk, insisting upon total concentration from the moment they climbed on the bus in Ayrshire right through to Craig Thomson's final whistle. The sermon paid dividends as Killie scored four goals without reply to cut their gap on the Lanarkshire club in tenth to four points and overturn their disadvantage in goal difference. Perhaps the scariest thing from an Accies point of view is that the margin of victory could have been more emphatic.

“Boydy gave it - there was to be no moment from even before a ball was kicked that anyone could rest on their laurels," revealed Josh Magennis. "From quarter to 12, when we met up, to quarter to five, we had to be right at it. We needed a few rockets up the backsides and Boydy’s more than capable of delivering them. No one was in any doubt that this occasion was massive."

While defeat would have confirmed Kilmarnock's involvement in the play-offs, suddenly Lee Clark's side sense they may be able to save themselves in regulation league play. They still have much work to do, but a club appeared to come together in Lanarkshire on Saturday, as players, fans and management united in a bid to beat the drop. Hamilton, by contrast, were coming apart at the seams - fans exiting the stadium early poured vitriol down on manager Martin Canning, while a frustrated group of players queued up to pick up cheap bookings for taking things out on their opponents.

Now all Kilmarnock need to do is bottle up that feeling and take it back with them to Rugby Park, where smiles and sunny optimism are often on such short supply. They have home matches against Partick - a win would draw them into the mire too - and Dundee United still to come, in addition with a trip to Dundee. It is a run-in which on paper feels marginally easier than Hamilton's - who are away to Dundee, at home to Inverness and then away to Partick on the last day.

“Fans pay their money and they have an opinion, to which they’re well entitled, so it’s a lot easier to get through 90 minutes with them on your side," admitted Magennis. "The only way you’re going to do that is to be 100 per cent for the jersey, to play entertaining football when you can and to put points on the board. It’s just so important that we have everyone at this club - players, management, staff, fans - pulling in the same direction so we can stay in this league."

Magennis, of course, has both personal and professional reasons to aspire to beating the drop. An 11th place finish would extend his season until the end of May, causing him to report late for Northern Ireland's pre-Euro 2016 camp. This summer will be the biggest moment of his entire career but Magennis does not plan to go there on a downer. "Even though I have one eye on France, the most important thing is Kilmarnock getting safe," he said. "That would be an absolute joy."

The next staging post in this whole saga is Monday night's Dundee derby, where it would take a United win to prevent their city rivals from relegating them. Magennis will tune in, hoping for permission to focus all their energies looking up the table, but on this form Kilmarnock will be a match for anyone in the play-offs in any case. They have drawn twice against Celtic (only Tom Rogic prevented a hat-trick) and once against Rangers.

“It will be a relief knowing the team below you can’t catch you," said Magennis. "When we play like that, we don’t care who we play against. But there’s no point being up and down, you have to steady the ship."

The best that could be said for Hamilton was that they were dealt at least one serious injustice. The game's opening goal shouldn't have stood as lineswoman Kylie McMullan somehow missed the ball going out before Greg Kiltie lashed in the first of two fine goals. Boyd slammed in a penalty for number three after Lucas Tagliapetra had used an arm and a low Magennis shot which rattled around the six yard box completed the scoring.

"It was 100% over the line, whole ball, no doubt about it," said a typically honest McGovern. "I was standing right in line with it and it was a horrendous mistake. Darian McKinnon said he could have got his foot to it to put it out but didn't because it was so obviously out. The first goal in the game was crucial but it was a really poor performance, one of the worst since I have been here to be honest."