Lee McCulloch wants Dean Hawkshaw to prove he is worth both a place in the Kilmarnock side and a new deal.
Hawkshaw made his Killie breakthrough last term but was made to wait until last Saturday's draw at Aberdeen to force his way back into action this season.
Kilmarnock boss McCulloch rates the 20-year-old highly but says he needs to see more consistency from the midfielder.
Now he has laid down the challenge to Hawkshaw by declaring he can win a fresh contract if he is able to hold onto his first-team slot.
"Dean has done great," said McCulloch. "He was out the team at the start of this season but has been around the first team for a few years now.
"I've been emphasising to him now that he really does need to kick on and cement a place in the first team.
"He's agreed with that. He's a willing worker who has a great attitude.
"He's out of contract at the end of the season and I've laid down a marker to him that he needs to earn himself a new deal.
"I haven't been reluctant to put him in the team but there were a few lads ahead of him at the start of the season - but he's overtaken them now.
"He's earned his place in the squad so far and I've told him it shouldn't be up to me to pick him in the team - he can pick himself by fulfilling his potential."
Hawkshaw's early introduction in place of injured colleague Iain Wilson helped turn last week's Pittodrie clash in Killie's favour.
They battled back for a morale-boosting 1-1 draw with the Dons but are still waiting for their first win of the new campaign.
But McCulloch hopes they can get off the mark when Dundee make the trip to Ayrshire on Saturday and spark a run that will take them off bottom spot.
He said: "We've not had that wee bit of luck this season and it's hard to keep heads up when you're not getting results.
"But we got a good result last week and that's helped. We're not forgetting it was only a point but it was fully deserved and hopefully we can carry that on now.
"Dundee will be a tough challenge. They have got a direct style so we'll need to deal with that.
"But we've got Ross County and Partick Thistle coming up after this game so this run of fixtures is an opportunity to pick up some much-needed points."
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