Kilmarnock- 24h On

The home support held up but there seemed to be a dip in numbers making the trip up the A77. This was disappointing (and surprising given Killie’s fifth place spot) and it could be that the high price of twenty pounds for entry to the South Stand knocked a few hundred off the gate.

Those who did make the effort left the ground in happier mood than the locals. Yet again Motherwell failed to hold on to a late lead and Boyd’s second goal resulted in a point apiece.

Terry Butcher obviously shares his frustration with the rest of the Motherwell support. “We should have won the game if we had defended better and stronger at the end. That has happened in a number of games when we have been in good positions and have thrown points away."

Still, it has to be remembered that the criticism levelled at the team relates to an expectation that we will finish in the upper half of the league. In the FPC poll at the start of the season only half of the voters felt that we would make the top six. Our defensive lapses are disappointing but a look over our shoulders at the positions held be Dunfermline and Livingston will put or grumbles in perspective.

We have a cup quarter final at Fir Park on Tuesday. This will be the first competitive game that requires season ticket holders to stump up an entry fee since the Scottish Cup quarter final against ICT in March 2004. Let’s hope that the lure of watching the game free from a comfy armchair does not damage the attendance too much.