Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes wary of 'last chance saloon' St Johnstone in relegation battle

Derek McInnes says his Kilmarnock team will face a St Johnstone side who are in “last chance saloon” this weekend as they look to fight off relegation fears.

The clash between the two at McDiarmid Park this weekend could see Kilmarnock take a huge step away from ending up in the relegation play-off and deliver another blow to the Perth side as they look for a miraculous escape from the drop.

But that situation makes McInnes more wary of the opposition, as he says they have the ability to get the results they need and are full of hunger and desire.

“St Johnstone are possibly in the last chance saloon in terms of winning games, but we’re well aware of their threats,” he said.

“St Johnstone can beat us on any given day, they’ve shown that this season and they can beat other teams.

“They are a team that puts bodies forward. You’ve got to praise Simo for that

“I think he’s got a really big squad to choose from, and sometimes you’re never really sure who’s playing.

“They have a couple of defensive injuries but they’ve got good players and I think that a lot of their best players are probably attacking players.

“So with that in mind I think, you normally see an attacking approach from St Johnstone and I firmly believe that will be the case.

“They will come right after us, they will see this as a big chance for them, they are at home and we have got to be ready to fight fire with fire, as we will do.”

St Johnstone are six points adrift of Ross County in 11th place but with four games left to play, and those two still to face each other, McInnes doesn’t think there’ll be any shortage of belief and confidence in the opposition ranks, and he needs his side to match that.

“If I was the St Johnstone manager, I’d still feel we had a real chance,” he said.

“I feel that when you hear Simo speak, he’s full of belief and full of encouragement for his players to believe that they can get a result.

“And they’ll be thinking that if they can go and win the next couple of games, then they’re right back in it.

“I think Motherwell are now the only team in the bottom six who can breathe a bit easier after their win last weekend and there’s still work for us all to do and we are well aware of that.”