If this is what the mere presence of new manager Steve Clarke does to his Kilmarnock players, then they may well be in for a decent season after all. The newly-appointed Rugby Park boss took his seat in the stand at Firhill to witness his team grind out a deserved three points against a hapless Partick Thistle outfit, and he must have been satisfied with what he saw.

The credit for this crucial victory of course must go to caretaker boss Paul McDonald, who will now gladly slink back into the shadows with a 100% top-flight record, but for first time in a long, long while, there is a hint of excitement around Kilmarnock.

There is little doubt that the club’s ability to lure someone of Clarke’s standing has given everyone involved there a boost.

“Steve Clarke is a massive name in the game, and it shows how ambitious our club is to appoint somebody of his stature,” said interim boss McDonald. “It's credit to our directors and we're thrilled.

“He met the players at the pre-match meal at the hotel in the morning. He said good luck and the real work starts today at three o'clock.

“It was a thrill to get the three points, which was our target before the game.”

And it was a deserved three points at that for a side who while far from outstanding, showed glimpses that there may be something in this squad for Clarke to work with.

It was a slightly nervy opening befitting the magnitude of the match, but Killie were first to really threaten as Jordan Jones wriggled free and had an effort that was blocked, with his follow-up flashing across Tomas Cerny’s goalline.

It took over half an hour for the home side to fashion a clear sight of goal, Kris Doolan getting too much on an attempted glancing header at the near post from Blair Spittal’s corner.

The opening goal when it came five minutes from the interval was wholly in-keeping with the scrappy nature of the match, featuring a calamitous piece of play from Niall Keown in the Thistle defence to hand Kilmarnock the lead.

A hooked cross from Jones looked to be meat and drink for the big centre-half, but he misjudged the bounce of the ball and succeeded only in presenting it to the feet of Kris Boyd six yards from goal. Not the best move.

The striker did what he has been doing his whole career, coolly tucking the ball into the corner.

There was at least a bit of life about Thistle at the start of the second half, and Paul McGinn’s curling shot through a ruck of bodies had to be dealt with by Jamie MacDonald as he dirtied his gloves for the first time.

Killie should have doubled their lead soon after though as McKenzie and Jones broke onto solitary Jags defender Danny Devine, but the final flicked effort from Jones was too elaborate and Thistle scrambled clear, only for the ball to be hoisted back into the area where Boyd’s header was cleared off the line by Milan Nitriansky.

The reprieve was short-lived, and what a goal Killie’s second was when it duly arrived. Adam Frizzell picked the ball up in midfield, drove forward and unleashed a stunning, swerving strike that kissed the bar as it flew beyond Cerny.

The quality of fare on show had been far below what Clarke may have been used to seeing during his days at Chelsea or West Brom the English Premier League, but Frizzell’s effort was fit to grace any stage.

For Thistle, this was a worrying afternoon. They had hoped that their woeful performance at Motherwell last time out was a blip, but if anything, this was worse on their own patch.

Yes, their injury situation isn’t helping, with manager Alan Archibald only able to name five substitutes, but there appeared to be a concerning lack of direction about their play, and an alarming lack of fight when they fell behind.

Doolan forced McDonald into a good save at the death with Conor Sammon helping the resultant corner onto the post, but even a consolation was beyond them.

It’s now nine games without a win this season, and while the Thistle board will commendably and rightfully stand by their manager, he really could do with results against Dundee and Hamilton in their next two fixtures. The fans were clear in voicing their own displeasure at the final whistle.

“It was very disappointing,” said Archibald.

“The manner of the goals was schoolboy stuff. The first is a throw-in down the side and a cross, Niall makes a mistake and puts his hand up, that happens, but the second one is a kick out.

“Take nothing away from Kilmarnock, but we were really poor.

“The fans have been brilliant, they deserve to boo, they’ve just lost two-nil at home in a massive game.

“The Dundee game is massive and we’re still in touching distance. The next couple of fixtures give us a chance to get back into the pack, but we said that before this game.

“Myself and the players have got to make sure we take that on board and realise how big a game it is, because I hate to say it, but it looked as though that game meant more to Kilmarnock today with the aggression in their play. We didn’t have that.”

PARTICK THISTLE: Cerny; Nitriansky, Keown, Devine, McGinn; Edwards, Barton (McCarthy, 77’); Spittal, Erskine, Storey (Sammon, 65’); Doolan.

Booked: Barton (14’)

KILMARNOCK: MacDonald; O’Donnell, Broadfoot, Greer, Findlay; McKenzie (Thomas, 88’), Power, Taylor (Waters, 85’), Frizzell; Jones, Boyd (Erwin, 75’).

Scorers: Boyd (41’), Frizzell (63’)

Booked: Taylor (81’)

Referee: Kevin Clancy

Attendance: 3662