It was a personal nightmare for John Potter. The Saints captain had been criticised throughout much of 2009 and the imposing presence of Kevin Kyle tormented him all night before he was eventually hooked and subsequently dropped for the next two games. As one of his biggest critics, I was rather concerned that he was still in the team this season but he seemed to do well against Dundee United last Saturday and also against Ayr during the week. Hopefully, the demons have been laid to rest as far as Pottsi is concerned.
Our other visit to Rugby Park last season was far happier, Andy Dorman scoring the game's only goal to give us victory. The midfielder has been a bit off form recently, but if he is still a Saints player on Wednesday morning it'll be a small victory as most folk expected him to be sold during the summer. Personally, I don't think his situation is being helped by him being played on the wings and would far rather he was in the middle, but we have central midfielders coming out of our ears at the moment.
Dorman will, of course, start tomorrow and Hugh Murray could return to the team alongside him. The rest of the midfield is anyone's guess, with Tom Brighton, Steven Robb, Stephen McGinn, Steven O'Donnell, Steven Thomson and Garry Brady all battling it out alongside him. The rest of the side is likely to be the one that beat Ayr on Wednesday, with Mo Camara not fit - although he's back in training - and Chris Smith injured.
Kilmarnock's main threat comes from the aforementioned Kyle, who could have fun against our relatively short defence. The big striker, who has recovered from the abuse he received as a Scotland player years ago, has been in superb form of late for Killie and could yet leave before the transfer deadline, although it's unlikely. Like us, Jim Jeffries' has two big strikers at his disposal and may well decide to pair Kyle with Conor Sammon. Just think how silky this will be if we partner Michael Higdon and Billy Mehmet up front!
Kyle isn't the only player to be wary of. Craig Bryson is a good midfielder and so is David Fernandez, when he isn't busy flinging himself at the ground. Alan Combe is a decent keeper and fellow ex Saint Allan Russell is capable of goals, although he is likely to be missing again due to injury.