Mystery striker set to sign for Killie

Dec 26 2008 by Clair Fullarton, Kilmarnock Standard

KILLIE boss Jim Jefferies is confident that he will have a new striker on board shortly after the transfer window opens on January 1.

The Rugby Park gaffer was giving nothing away to identify the mystery man to avoid alerting other clubs, but talks are ongoing this week with the player’s agent.

Said the manager: “We hit a little snag early in the week but we’ve still got a week or so to get things ironed out.”

Jefferies is also hoping to extend the load period of Coventry’s Donovan Simmonds – after the player has his hernia operation.

“He loves it here,” said Jefferies, “and is keen to stay on at least until the end of the season if his club agrees.”

The 19-year-old will go to Germany for post-operative treatment early in the New Year, but has set his sights on returning to Killie when he is fit to play again.

Ahead of Saturday’s visit to Easter Road, Killie were given a boost on Tuesday with Mehdi Taouil, Simon Ford and Danny Invincibile all resuming training.

And there was a real pre-Christmas boost when Willie Gibson was also given the all-clear to start back training again.

Said Jefferies: “It’s too early to say whether Willie will make it for Saturday, but we’re hoping that a few of the other lads who have been missing recently will be fit for selection.”

While Jefferies was disappointed with the outcome against St Mirren, he said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort.

“I thought we started the game as well as we’ve done in recent weeks,” said the manager, “but we found them a bit difficult to break down.

“Things became even harder when they scored, for they’re good at holding on to what they have.”

While some recent results have been disappointing – particularly at home – the bigger picture reveals that Killie are in seventh position in the SPL, five points ahead of four clubs – Falkirk, Motherwell, Inverness CT and Hamilton – and one point ahead of the Buddies.

This Saturday’s game against Hibs at Easter Road marks the half way stage in the SPL campaign, and Killie have a decent away record this season, with three wins and a draw on the road from nine away fixtures.

Hibs are the team immediately above Killie with a four- point advantage, but Killie do have a game in hand over the Edinburgh side.

So a repeat of the season’s opening result of 1-0 in Killie’s favour would do rather nicely, and go some way to making up for the disappointment of last Saturday’s defeat.

Said Jefferies: “We have lost a few games by the odd goal so if we can keep things tight against Hibs and get a boost from one or two of the guys returning, we can go there and get a result.

“The players are not allowing their heads to go down and are working really hard in training, so we’ll go there with a fair degree of confidence and hope we get a rub of the green for a change.”

Killie Reserves went down 1-0 to Celtic at Airdrie on Monday afternoon and, according to Jefferies, were a bit unlucky.

“They played really well,” he said, “and after losing an early goal created four or five good chances.”

Armand One played his second game for Killie against Celtic in a week, and a decision is likely to be made before the weekend on whether the player will be offered a contract or not.