His time in the Toon with Newcastle United may be coming to end but Stuart Findlay continues to revel in being the talk of the toon with Kilmarnock.
The 22-year-old has been told that his contract with the Tyneside club will not be renewed in the summer but while his future may be uncertain, Findlay is simply enjoying the present with rejuvenated, resolute Kilmarnock.
His neatly dispatched header gave the Ayrshiremen a fifth victory on the trot against toiling Partick Thistle and kept Steve Clarke’s troops in the hunt for fourth spot and, possibly, a place in Europe.
Findlay doesn’t get many goals. Then again, the towering centre back looks positively prolific compared to some of the Thistle players who are in the midst of such a barren spell, they’ll be re-naming Firhill, Death Valley, at this alarming rate. Five games without a goal have left the restless natives in the stands parched.
Findlay, meanwhile, enjoyed his moment in the scoring spotlight on Saturday while his increasingly effective partnership with the experienced campaigner that is Kirk Broadfoot continues to bring plaudits from his manager, Steve Clarke.
Newcastle may not require his services but Findlay is taking plenty of comfort and confidence from being been made to feel wanted at Rugby Park.
“They (Newcastle) have told me I will leave,” he said. “There’s always speculation but all I know is that I’m loving it here and loving it working under a magnificent manager.
“I’m at an age where I need to play football and at the best level I can and at the moment I’m loving everything that’s happening here.
“When the manager came in he played me at left back which wasn’t my favourite position but I showed that I could do a job and he could trust me.
“Big Gordon (Greer) had a few injuries and I got my chance at centre back. To have a man of his (Clarke’s) calibre backing me has given me all the confidence in the world.”
What Thistle would give for a morale boost? They certainly put in plenty of honest toil on Saturday but the lack of a cutting edge, at this frenzied time of the season, is a huge concern.
Conor Sammon had a great chance to restore parity but his jab was well saved by the Kilmarnock keeper, Jamie MacDonald.
“It was a good save from MacDonald but I should have scored,” conceded the Irishman. “It came at a really crucial time in the second half as well.
“Nobody wants to be in this position. And it’s up to this group of players to get out of it. We have five games to do the business and try to finish the season on a high.”
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