Tommy Wright has vowed to keep a lid on excitement levels at Kilmarnock – and warned no one in his squad is guaranteed a first-team place.
Killie are going for four wins in a row this afternoon when Partick Thistle visit Rugby Park in the cinch Championship.
Wright's men are two points clear at the top of the table and savouring star striker Oli Shaw being named Championship player of the month for October yesterday.
However, boss Wright doesn't want his troops getting carried away with two-thirds of the campaign remaining as he reflected on some of the big decisions he has taken when selecting his matchday squads.
He said: “We have confidence and belief but my job is to make sure a lid is kept on that.
“We don’t want to get over confident and we have to respect the opponent. The next game is always the most important one and make sure we do well.
“We have done that recently but we were being criticised before the run of three games in a week for being five points behind.
“That should be the warning to the players not to get complacent."
Wright continued: “I said in the summer we were building a squad, not just a first XI, to hopefully take us where we want to go.
“No one is guaranteed a place. Chris Burke was out of the squad against Ayr but came back last week.
“He didn’t sulk and came on to score a goal. Callum Hendry started against Hamilton and Ayr but was on the bench against Queen of the South.
“He didn’t throw his toys out of the pram and came on to score one and set up another goal.
“Calum Waters has had to wait for his chance, Brandon [Haunstrup] reacted well to sitting out and he is ready to come back in.
“You need everyone fighting together and that was part of the recruitment process as we wanted people with the right attitude.
“The team have to come first and that’s what we have.”
Meanwhile, full-back Waters admits this season has been a "breath of fresh air" after swapping a Premiership drop-zone battle for a tilt at the Championship title and being part of the league's top side.
The 25-year-old said: "It was disappointing to get relegated but now we’re one of the bigger teams in the league, winning every week, and you’re going forward attacking.
"The pressure we have to handle is of being the team that everyone wants to beat. That is something we’ve spoken about and have to manage, stick to our game plan and not let that affect us."
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