Josh Magennis, the Kilmarnock striker, is determined to repay the faith shown to him by manager Allan Johnston by contributing more goals to his performances for the Ayrshire side.
The 24-year-old completed a move to Rugby Park on a three-year contract this summer and was assured that he would be given the opportunity to lead the attack.
That was an agreement sought after a relatively unproductive spell with Aberdeen - his time at Pittodrie including a brief stint at right-back - and then St Mirren, where he made 13 appearances last season without scoring a goal. Magennis was eager to make sure that his move to Kilmarnock would not result in a shift away from the front line.
He felt that at times his dry spells in front of goal caused managers to lose faith in him, but Magennis continues to receive encouragement from the Kilmarnock coaching team of Johnston and Gary Locke. That has ensure that the striker remains confident and he is desperate to produce the goods against Partick Thistle afternoon.
"The best thing about it is I've been playing," said the Northern Ireland internationalist. "I've finally got a manager who has put his trust in me, which is absolutely fantastic. That's the conversation that cemented the deal, that I would get my chance and as long as I'm doing the business I will stay in the team.
"Under Craig Brown [at Aberdeen] I played 15 games at right-back. He needed me to play there for the team and that's the way it is, but when I signed here the manager told me I would be playing up front unless we are struggling. I feel I'm repaying [that trust] in a way, even though I have only scored one, against Ross County."
Magennis will need to find a way past Dan Seaborne, among others, if he is to embellish his scoring record today. The Kilmarnock forward will endeavour to be at the forefront of the minds of the Partick Thistle defence when the two teams meet at Rugby Park today, albeit yesterday he was much further from their thoughts.
Victory in the third round of the League Cup - and the subsequent draw for the quarter-finals - has given Thistle the distraction of a tie against Celtic next month. It is a contest which Seaborne is looking forward to, not least having enjoyed cup ties with other auspicious sides earlier in his career. His cv is perhaps short on cup success but it is still punctuated by performances in the FA Cup against both Manchester United and Arsenal, while a player at Southampton and Coventry City respectively.
"I've never had a great cup run before but I've played some big teams like Manchester United and Arsenal during my career," said the Thistle defender. "Getting to a quarter-final is just as exciting for me. It's new territory for me being this far down the line so I'm looking forward to it.
"The Man United game was close but we should have got something from it. They had all their big names on show but we just didn't have the experience. Against Arsenal, we did okay but lost 4-0. They pretty much had a full-strength side out too [and] having played in those games, I feel it can help me when we play Celtic."
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