KRIS BOYD has questioned the motivation behind Rangers’ ongoing search for a Scottish coach. The Kilmarnock striker, whose side take on Rangers at Rugby Park this evening, was sceptical of new manager Pedro Caixinha’s claims that it is he who wants someone with local knowledge to work alongside him.

A cast of candidates – including Peter Lovenkrands, Nacho Novo, Barry Ferguson and Jonatan Johansson – have all been linked with the post but Rangers have yet to alight on the chosen candidate. Boyd, who had two spells as a player at Ibrox, wondered why the process was taking so long.

“I can understand the pull of it but it seems every player who used to play for Rangers has been linked with the job,” said the 33 year-old. “For me, I don't know if it's something he [Caixinha] wants to do or if it's been forced upon him. When you see there's been a list of candidates drawn up and you still can't get one after four or five weeks, I don't know what's going on.”

Kilmarnock will look to bolster their chances of a top six finish by doling out a defeat to Caixinha in his first away game as Rangers manager but Boyd knew it would be difficult against his old side.

“Rangers are still Rangers,” said the 33 year-old. “They have fantastic players - way better than us. With the injuries we have to key players, it will be difficult. At the beginning of the season Rangers were dominating and still not scoring. From what I've been led to believe, I believe that's changing.

“They might be a bit more direct now and asking teams to deal with an aerial threat. With the injuries we have it will be difficult to go and match up against Rangers. Their results might not have been great but they still have a new manager to try and impress.

“But we know if we give our best against Rangers we've got an opportunity to nick a point against a very good team.”

Boyd admitted taking anything from the top three sides in the league would always be considered a bonus.

“I think that's the way you look at Rangers and Celtic, and Aberdeen probably in the last few years, that anything is a bonus. Our main aim is beating the teams round about us. We know that if we have a better head to head against them over the season then we'll stay in the league. At the start of the season, we were virtually written off and to be where we are right now is pleasing but there's still a lot of work to be done to make sure we stay in the league.

“We had Partick Thistle in our sights [in sixth place] but results have made that pretty difficult now. The big picture, for us, is to look at where we were in the table this time last year and compare it to the situation now. Hopefully we can get a few more results in the run-in and stay where we are.

“It wasn't nice to have to go through the play-offs last season. Now we've got a good chance of steering clear of that. You can never say never until you're out of it for certain, but it's in our own hands.”

Boyd has welcomed the return of Greg Kiltie from injury. The forward was expected to miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery in October but returned ahead of schedule in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

“He came back at the weekend and with his energy, I think a fit Greg Kiltie playing every week is a million-pound-plus player,” added Boyd.

“There's no hiding the talent he's got, the drive and determination to succeed and get to the top. For me, he's similar to Stevie Naismith in the way he plays the game, and he causes a lot of teams a lot of problems.”