'A bit more on the bone' - why Kilmarnock refused to settle for 0-0 against Rangers

The Rugby Park side had trailed by two goals in the 86th minute of their previous game against Dundee only to score three times in the closing stages to claim an unlikely victory.

McInnes felt it was a sign of his players’ fitness and also their desire to keep going right until the final whistle.

The Kilmarnock boss said: “For me, it illustrates fitness, it illustrates the strength of the squad.

“It also illustrates a lot of time and real determination. I don't think any of my players at any point settled for 0-0. 0-0 wouldn't have been the worst result. Getting a clean sheet and you would take positives from the performance. 

“Still, I felt and still hoped it was a bit more on the bone for us. Thankfully, we managed to get that. I do think that we're well up. It's one of the trade-offs of playing in Europe competitively. We're well up and running. The players physically are in a good place.”

McInnes admits he feared Kilmarnock would pay the price for missing several good first-half chances only to withstand Rangers after the break before finding the winner.

“I thought we had the best opportunities in the first half,” he added. “We’ve been here before in the Rangers game last year when we went 1-0 up and missed a chance to get a second goal.

“Then Rangers hit us quite quickly with two goals. We need to stay concentrated against teams who can score out of nothing really. 

“I felt great once that winning goal was in. It's good to get all three points.”