CALLUM Hendry has admitted that Kilmarnock grew stale under their former manager Tommy Wright - and expressed hope that his replacement Derek McInnes can lift the Rugby Park squad and resurrect their cinch Championship promotion bid.

Hendry worked under Wright for three years at his former club St Johnstone and for half a season at Kilmarnock and is a huge admirer of the former Northern Ireland internationalist.

The striker was disappointed when the Ayrshire club parted company with the former Scottish Cup winner last month after a disappointing run of form saw them slip to fourth in the second tier table.

However, the 24-year-old has admitted the arrival of McInnes, who he worked under at Aberdeen last term after moving to Pittodrie on loan, and predicted the vastly-experienced coach can make an immediate impact and get them back to winning ways. 

“We just became a bit stale,” he said. “When Tommy brought me in I was excited and I looked forward to it. I have lost no respect for Tommy – I think he is a great man and a great manager.

“But I just think it went a bit stale and something needed to change. I think it is a big statement from Kilmarnock to bring the gaffer in. It’s good. I don’t think we quite expected it, but it has happened now.

“You can see from training that all the boys are at it. Thursday was an eye-opener. It was a lot more intense than I have seen it. Everyone is ready to start picking up some results and getting up and running.

“I think it is the best thing for us really. Like I said, it went a bit stale. Everyone is on a high now, everyone is wanting to impress, everyone is wanting to do well again. Hopefully we can take that into the Queen of the South game this weekend and get a bit of form.”

Hendry scored four times in 15 appearances for Aberdeen in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign – including a winner against Kilmarnock at Pittodrie.

The forward felt that McInnes managed to get the very best out of him during his stint in the north-east and is optimistic he will feature regularly under his new manager and get goals in the coming months.

He is out of contract in the summer and is keen to do well between now and April, help the Rugby Park clinch a place in the Premiership and earn a new deal.

“Obviously he took me to Aberdeen last year so he sees something in me,” he said.  That fills me with confidence.

“His man management is really good. He is really good at getting the best out of his players. If one week you are not in the team, you are the first to know about it. There are no secrets.

“Everyone who plays for him feels comfortable to go and knock on his door, which is important for a manager. It’s just the way he is. He gets the best out of everyone at the same time, which is so important and that’s why he has been successful.” 

Hendry added: “I am out of contract at the end of the season so I am open. I do not know what is going to happen. But first and foremost I need to keep myself in the team and keep scoring goals and keep playing well. As long as I work hard and keep doing that then it will take care of itself probably.  

“I have not heard anything yet. I am just keeping my head down. Hopefully something does come of it because I am happy here. I would be open to anything really. The main thing is I need to get myself in the team and score some goals.”

Hendry’s father Colin played alongside McInnes at Rangers and the former Scotland centre half and captain was enthusiastic about the appointment of his old team mate at Rugby Park.

“He thinks it is impressive from the club,” he said. “He just told me to make sure I do what I did at Aberdeen. I didn’t get to work long with the gaffer at Aberdeen, but I went in and he liked me and when I got in I took my chance. He just said: ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, keep scoring goals’.

“When I went up to Aberdeen the first thing that I did was have a meeting with Derek in his office. The chat was more about family than about football. I think we spent five minutes talking about football and the rest was about how my old man was.

“I didn’t know how much they knew about each other, but they played at Rangers together. It’s nice to know there’s a connection there.”