Tommy Wright reckons playing Ross County is the perfect start to Kilmarnock’s post-split fixture list.
The Rugby Park men will square-off against the Staggies in the opening bottom-six clash in which a win would see the Ayrshire side climb out of the bottom two.
And with three home matches out of five, the gaffer knows that Premiership survival is in Killie's hands.
Speaking to the Kilmarnock Standard, he said: “My initial thoughts on the split games are that they’re good.
“There is gaps in between games due to cup dates, but that’s the same for all the teams in the league.
“The first game is against Ross County. We played them recently so we know all about them.
“We have got three home games which we were expecting; kicking off with two home games gives us a big opportunity to make our mark.”
He added: “Beating County would lift us out of the bottom two which would be ideal.
“It would add pressure to the other teams, but there are 15 points to play for and our aim is to take each game as it comes and get as many points as possible.”
Killie ended a horrible run of 10 without a win as they hammered Motherwell 4-1 on Saturday.
And Wright reckons that could be the lift they need heading into the business end of the season.
He said: “It was an important day for us breaking the losing streak.
“It was a massive game and the players deserve massive credit for coming through it the way they did.
“It was an emphatic victory and it should give them confidence to kick-on now for the rest of the season.
“Motherwell were on a decent run, they picked up some good results so it shows how good it was.
“I believe we should have had six points from them in the two games we played, but that didn’t happen.
“On Saturday, though, it didn’t matter who we played it was vital we got ourselves off the bottom.”
He added: “I have been in the game long enough to know that when the lows are there that you have to get on with things.
“You can’t get too down about things when you’re losing, but it was nice going into work on Monday knowing we picked up three points.
“It’s getting to that stage of the season where we have got to be strong and positive together.
“That’s one thing we can’t be criticised for – we have been positive in everything we have tried to do.”
Meanwhile, Wright will give the players a weekend off before they get to work on preparing for a trip to League Two Stenhousemuir in the third round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday, April 3.
The Ayrshire side will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the last time they met when the Warriors knocked them out of the League Cup at Rugby Park during their first match as defending champions.
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