AS luxury players go, Alexei Eremenko is the footballing equivalent of bathing in ass's milk with a jeroboam of Krug.

What makes him so wonderful is that you get the feeling he knows it.

"My game is not about winning headers," said Eremenko in the wake of a decidedly average 2-1 win over St Mirren, made bearable only by the arrivals of him and Robbie Muirhead from the substitutes' bench in the second half. "I play the ball to feet and try my best to find those who are willing to do the running for me."

Eremenko may be on the wrong side of 30 and not yet fit enough to start games following time out with a toe injury, but he showed enough in his short spell on the pitch to suggest that in time he might be able to knit together this new-look Kilmarnock team with his passing and vision.

There are plenty of the runners he is looking for. There is a greater degree of youth, energy and enthusiasm in this squad.

Tope Obadeyi possesses the kind of athleticism that could really be dangerous providing he finds a way to make his work pay off in the final third, while Muirhead looked hugely impressive and composed.

Kilmarnock have several options in attack. Josh Magennis and Michael Ngoo have not quite set the heather on fire up front, while Lee Miller remains in reserve for the moment, but there are players there who could, quite clearly, make hay from the creative qualities Eremenko brings to the table.

The team looked more composed when he was on the pitch and there was one moment, 11 minutes from time, when he effortlessly drifted past Eli Plummer without so much as breaking into a canter before setting up Muirhead for a shot that was well saved by Marian Kello.

With grafters such as Jamie Hamill and Sammy Clingan in midfield, there is room to play Eremenko. The fact Kilmarnock, not quite blessed with individuals bursting with game-changing talent, are already 10 points clear of the bottom of the SPFL Premiership league table means they can perhaps give their playmaker greater freedom without worrying about the kind of relegation dogfight that unfolded last season.

Eremenko certainly believes in the potential of the squad assembled by his manager, Allan Johnston.

"We have a lot of variety in the side," said the Russia-born Finn. "We have players such as Josh and Michael, who are big, powerful and strong, and the likes of myself, Robbie, Craig Slater and Sammy, who can keep the ball and pass it. Kilmarnock are a different proposition this season. Last season we would have lost that kind of match by letting in last-minute goals or not scoring. This season, we are scoring goals that we wouldn't normally."

Following a quite awful first half, it was the 18-year-old Muirhead, on for a disappointing Ngoo, who produced a wonderful moment when connecting with a long pass forward from Mark Connolly just after the hour and stepping past Jason Naismith to bend a lovely effort into the far corner of the net.

It was a sore moment for Naismith. Just a little earlier, he had seen a header from a John McGinn corner beat Craig Samson in the home goal only to find the referee, Alan Muir, had penalised him for a foul on Manuel Pascali.

"Robbie is one of those players who can go on and play at the highest level," said Eremenko. "If he continues to work hard, that is possible."

For all that, St Mirren might just have got something from this match. Adam Drury made it 1-1 with 19 minutes remaining with their first league goal of the season after McGinn had robbed Connolly on the edge of the area and fired a low cross-cum-shot towards the far post.

However, they proved masters of their own downfall with eight minutes of the match to go. Clingan launched a hopeful free kick into the area and Connolly atoned for his earlier lapse by putting an unchallenged header past Kello.

"We lost silly goals," said St Mirren midfielder Kenny McLean. "At the first one, I lost the ball and the second one was a set piece. We need to defend better and concentrate better. We need something to fall for us as well.

"All the boys are on a downer in the changing room, but we need to pick ourselves up and stay together. We can't hide away from the fact that we are on a terrible run. Every one of us needs to stand up and be counted."

Stranded at the bottom, six points adrift with the similarly pointless Ross County, the season is taking on a rather gloomy appearance for St Mirren and their already-embattled manager, Tommy Craig. McLean must wonder whether signing a new two-year contract in the summer was the wisest move.

"I didn't expect to stay here and win every game," he remarked. "There is a bit of a gap there, but I hope we can start closing it sooner rather than later. There are a lot of games to go."