OCHILVIEW is not where Kilmarnock’s season will be saved.

But the revitalisation of Kyle Lafferty in the colours of the Rugby Park side might be its turning point.

The nomadic 33-year-old netted the third hat-trick of his career to ease Kilmarnock into the fourth round of the Scottish Cup at the expense of Stenhousemuir yesterday and while the possibility of a run into the tournament will be enticing, the here and now is about retaining the club’s top-flight status.

To that end, Lafferty’s goals will be crucial.

It is a reflection of just how woebegone Kilmarnock have been in that area of the pitch this season that the Northern Irish internationalist finds himself, following his February arrival in Ayrshire, second top in the club’s goal-scoring charts with six.

Fine tuning him ahead of the final five league games of the season could be crucial for Tommy Wright, whose side host Ross County on Saturday. The Highlanders are a point better off than Kilmarnock ahead of the run in.

And while much has been spoken of Lafferty and his high jinks and practical jokes, the business of keeping Kilmarnock up is no laughing matter.

“That is why we brought him in,” said Wright. “I do believe we have players at the club who can be creative and get us into good positions and we just needed someone to come in and finish those off.

“He is a big personality. He is always one for playing the practical jokes and I don’t mind that because it gives the place a lift. The players have a wee smile when they see him coming. But for all of that when he is on the pitch on a Saturday or on the training ground he is a real professional.”

Not that Wright will be granting him his wish if he is successful in saving Kilmarnock from the drop.

The player has pestered the Kilmarnock manager for a bulldog pup – Wright keeps that breed – with Wright insisting that the club will be due a return for giving the player a platform to rejuvenate his career. It will be interesting to see if that means a deal that stretches longer than this summer.

“He is not getting a bulldog… I wouldn’t wish it on a bulldog because he couldn’t look after it,” said Wright. “He asked me during the week to breed one for him but that will not be happening. He should be paying me for bringing him back and scoring goals again.”

George Oakley also netted his first goal for the club to offer some satisfaction to Wright with the only worry for Kilmarnock being a head injury to Zech Medley that caused significant concern on the half hour. After a collision with Mark McGuigan the player got to his feet and staggered away before then having to sit down with Wright unwilling to speculate on the extent of the damage until X-ray results are returned.

“There was a slight delay with it and that is worrying,” said Wright. “But we can’t look too much at it until we get the x-ray. There was a bit of swelling too about his cheek-bone and it was concerning.”

Davie Irons was sent to the stand in the second period as he contested referee Greg Aitken’s call not to give his side a penalty and the Stenhousemuir manager was irked at the bigger decisions too that have been made by the authorities.

“We’re now at Brechin on Tuesday, then have Cowdenbeath at home on Thursday and Queen’s Park at home on Saturday before we go again on the Tuesday,” he said. “The lower leagues have been treated with a lot of disrespect, because as well as the volume of games, we’re all having to ask for time off work over and over again.

“We’ve got to be at Brechin for a 7pm kick-off because there’s live European football on the TV, but how we affect that situation when we’re playing behind doors is beyond me.”