Derek McInnes urges Kilmarnock to build on Hearts victory in Motherwell clash

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has urged his players to build on last weekend’s hard-fought victory over Hearts, as the Ayrshire side prepare to face Motherwell at Fir Park on Friday night.

Killie were without a win in six games and saw Robbie Deas receive the club’s seventh red card of the season in just the sixth minute of the match, but deservedly secured a vital 1-0 victory through a Bruce Anderson penalty to rise to eighth in the William Hill Premiership.

Motherwell are the only side Kilmarnock are yet to face in the league this season, although they did suffer a 1-0 defeat at Fir Park in the Premier Sports Cup back in August.

McInnes said: “Motherwell are going well again. They had a wee dip but they’ve now had two wins in a row.

“Any team that can win two games in a row get a clear benefit in the league table and Motherwell are an example of that.

“They are a team we haven’t played in the league yet this season and it gives us an opportunity to try and build on the win over Hearts.

“The run of fixtures which takes us to January 8 when we play Motherwell again has three home games in that period.

“But it’s also incumbent on us to pick up points away from home. We’ve got some good points on the road so far, including our last away game at Tannadice.

“We just need to go and put on a performance which gets something from the game. Hopefully we can.”

McInnes also defended the “unpopular” decision to substitute young striker Bobby Wales in the defeat of Hearts.

Wales was making his first league start of the season but had to be sacrificed in the 11th minute as McInnes rejigged his team following Deas’ red card.

He added: “Sometimes you’ve got to make unpopular decisions. Everyone is bursting to see a bit more of Bobby.

“We thought it would be a good game for Bobby to start, being at home. We had spoken about him playing a certain role and having that impact for us making runs beyond.

“Of course he was disappointed at coming off so early. But the team is always more important than any individual.”