Birthday boy Allan Russell nets first Killie goal

Dec 19 2008 by Clair Fullarton, Kilmarnock Standard

IT’S been a long time coming, but birthday boy Allan Russell finally broke his duck this week.

And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Rugby Park team who desperately needed to get their SPL campaign back on track.

The former Airdrie hitman, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Saturday, was still on cloud nine and enjoying that belated birthday present when I tracked him down on Tuesday afternoon.

“I am absolutely delighted to have scored,” he beamed.

“Of course the most important thing was the result, but on a personal level, it was great to get the goal.

“It was good to get the win. It’s never easy going to Fir Park and to get the three points was a great achievement for us.

“We have important games coming up, and it is important to build on the confidence we have after Monday’s result forward.

“St Mirren have won their last two games and will come to Rugby Park with plenty of confidence themselves, so it should be an interesting game.”

Russell, who signed for Killie in the close season, was hit by bad luck almost immediately.

He had to be flown home early from the summer training camp in Italy, in the company of club chairman Michael Johnston, suffering from ligament damage.

He spent nearly four months out of contention for the first team, only making his debut against Inverness three weeks ago, when he was unlucky not to score.

He added: “It was incredibly frustrating to be injured so soon after signing, but that’s the nature of the beast, I suppose.

“It has felt like it has taken me a really long time to get to this point, so it was a huge relief to get the goal.”

But despite being on the sidelines since signing in the summer, Russell says he settled into the rigours of SPL football life fairly quickly.

He said: “It is a big difference between the Second Division and the SPL, but I was made to feel welcome right away.

“The gaffer and Billy have been great too, and now I have to prove to them I can score goals at this level, given the chance.

“It will be good to see this year in and get 2009 under way, and hopefully score lots of goals to help Killie back into the top six.

“I’m already feeling a lot sharper than I did a couple of weeks ago against Inverness, so I’m hoping Monday’s goal is the first of many.”