Derek McInnes: Goals will determine how high David Watson rises

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has backed teenage midfielder David Watson to enjoy a good career – but says his goals tally will determine how high he rises.

Watson came off the bench at half-time in Kilmarnock’s 3-3 draw with Dundee United last weekend, netting an acrobatic overhead kick two minutes after taking to the pitch, then stealing into the box to prod home a second goal ten minutes later.

The 19-year-old, who had been a first-team regular over the past two seasons, now has three goals already this term and bagged five last year.

McInnes is hopeful that he can work on increasing his goalscoring return. He says that midfielders who can regularly find the back of the net are those who end up at the top of the game.

“Davie’s going to have a good career,” the Killie boss said. “There’s no doubt about that.

“I’ve been around long enough to know when a boy is going to do well. How well he does, I think, will be determined by how many goals he gets in a season.

“If he can be that running number eight that can get double figures in a season, those boys are worth their weight in gold.

“He does a lot of the game really well. He can handle the ball, he can compete in the air, he makes contact and competes well physically.

“The thing that will separate him and what level he goes to will be being a goalscoring midfielder.”

McInnes admitted it had been a difficult decision to leave Watson out of his starting line-up on Saturday but said that he had responded perfectly and made a huge contribution to all of the positive things about Kilmarnock’s performance.

“It was tough to leave David out,” he said. “We brought Brad Lyons back in because initially, Kyle Vassell wasn’t going to make it, though he passed a late fitness test.

“We were worried about size and leadership and stuff like that, but David responded brilliantly.

“He came on at half-time and was just exactly what the game needed. We needed more contact through the middle of the park. We needed to turn the ball over more and play forward more.

“His first goal, sometimes that type of goal will surprise people because of the technique. If that had been other players everybody would have been waxing lyrical about it.

“The second goal is just a David Watson goal. Marley Watkins goes far post, Vassell goes near post and he splits the strikers and gets his goal.

“It’s the type of goal that his energy and desire get him into the position for.

“The stats for those minutes from 45-80 that we possessed in that second half in terms of attacking areas, penalty box entries, winning duels, it was everything and he was a huge part in that.”