CLAIMING a place in the top six of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League does not promise rich reward, only a wealth of hyperbole.
That was perhaps most evident at Kilmarnock yesterday, when the prospect of seeing out the season in the company of Celtic, Motherwell and Inverness Caledonian Thistle prompted a dramatic statement from Garry Hay. "The whole season boils down to this one moment for us," he said.
His experience as a defender of 20-odd years has often guarded against the sort of statement which can leave a side vulnerable, not least since Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hibernian are all waiting for Kilmarnock to trip up. The Ayrshire club host Dundee today, a side that has become increasingly belligerent about their position at the bottom of the league table. They will be relegated this season but they will not feel shy about throwing a few elbows along the way.
Hay will be wary of his side suffering a bloody nose this late in the season, then. Yet the 35-year-old can be forgiven for making the most of the occasion since the splits have previously left Kilmarnock limping to the end of the season.
Three years ago, it took a goalless draw with Falkirk on the final day to save the Ayrshire club from stumbling out of the league altogether. While Kenny Shiels, the Kilmarnock manager, had been a colourful presence when discussing the game with Dundee – sprinkling phrases like "energetic dynamic" into the conversation – Hay found poignancy in recalling that grey day back in 2010.
"The manager made the point that a few seasons ago we were playing Falkirk in the last game of the season to save our SPL skins," he said. "People's jobs and livelihoods were at stake that day and the atmosphere was just surreal and not enjoyable. It was a horrible day and you have seen what happened to Falkirk afterwards. That could so easily have been Kilmarnock.
"From that, we have gone from strength to strength and we have won the League Cup and been in the top six, and we are battling again to be in the top half of the league. Kilmarnock have made real progress since then."
One of those who can claim to have helped the club along the way is Gary Harkins, although the forward will line up against his former side today. "I can't wait to go back to Kilmarnock. I'm buzzing at the prospect," said Harkins, who rejoined Dundee in January.
"I don't feel that I have anything to prove going back there, though. I enjoyed the company of the boys and there were a lot of happy times there."
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