GRAEME MURTY will have to work overtime if he hopes to raise the spirits of his dejected players as he prepares for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden on April 15.
The caretaker boss watched in misery yesterday as former Sevco Rangers striker Kris Boyd marked his return to the club with the only goal of the game in Kilmarnock’s well-merited victory.
It was a historic afternoon for the Govan side – their SEVENTH league loss at Ibrox this season which is their worst record in over ONE HUNDRED YEARS!
You have to go back to the 1914/15 campaign to find a similar sequence and Murty’s ambitions to get the job on a permanent basis are now in jeopardy.
The team have collapsed to Brendan Rodgers’ champions twice, Neil Lennon’s Hibs twice, Hamilton Accies, St Johnstone and now Killie.
The last five of the losses have come with Murty in charge, following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha in October.
Yet it was only a fortnight ago the former Scotland international revealed his players whooped with joy in the dressing room when they learned they had been drawn against the holders in the national competition.
He was speaking in the immediate aftermath of a 4-1 quarter-final win over Championship outfit Falkirk at Ibrox.
HISTORY BHOY – FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS…Brendan Rodgers on
course for a double treble.
A week later, Murty was sifting through the wreckage of a 3-2 home defeat from 10-man Celts and now he is on the ropes once more following Killie’s victory.
After thousands of home fans had left long before the final whistle, the crestfallen gaffer moaned: “It’s not about my record or the club’s record. We know this season at home we haven’t been good enough.
“That’s been encapsulated by this game, where a team has come and been very organised and made it difficult for us to play.
“That seems to be a theme.”
For the record, here is the run that has taken more than a century to rack up:
HIBS 2-3
CELTIC 0-2
HAMILTON 0-2
ST JOHNSTONE 1-3
HIBS 1-2
CELTIC 2-3
KILMARNOCK 0-1
Murty’s weekend is unlikely to get any better with Rodgers’ champions aiming for victory at Motherwell which would extend their advantage at the top of the Premiership to 12 points with a game in hand.
(Okay, we know this is a different club masquerading as an old club, but it still makes an interesting comparison. And there could be more woe to come!)
* Read Motherwell v Celtic full match report here
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