Alan Power is eager for Kilmarnock to get Steve Clarke tied down

Alan Power has one goal this season against St Mirren. Picture: SNS

Clarke’s stock remains high for the tremendous work he has done at Rugby Park and he still has a strong reputation in England.

Indeed, he is on the short list to become the next manager of Fulham – even if Scott Parker is favourite having been placed in temporary charge – and has also been linked with a return to West Bromwich Albion.

Power hopes all advances are rebuffed and Clarke can not only lead Kilmarnock to a strong finish this season, but new heights in the future.

The Irishman said: “I want to keep working with the gaffer. He’s done a lot for me since he came in. He’ll always be linked with jobs as he’s done a fantastic one here with what he has at his disposal.

“Hopefully we can tie him down and if not then I’m sure the players will!

“We’ve got a lot to play for. We want to finish as high up the table as we can. The teams in and around us have tough games coming up, as we have against St Mirren who are fighting for their lives. We don’t just want to settle for securing top six. We want to win as many games as we can.”

Returning to Paisley brings back happy memories for Power as he scored his only goal of the season there back in October. However, any scorer would be welcome as Kilmarnock have been firing blanks in their last five matches.

Power said: “I scored a goal – the only one so far – when we last played in Paisley and it would be nice to do it again.

“I don’t get many chances to shoot but I fully knew where it was heading! It’s probably the best strike of my career.

“Goals have been a problem but we’re not getting anxious because we know the scorers we have in the team.

“We’re fully capable of blowing any team away on our day. It’s just a phase we’re going through but we aim to put it right against St Mirren.

“In general, we knew the midfielders had to chip in with some goals and help the strikers out and even the defenders have stepped it up and scored a few more than last season. St Mirren have hit a bit of form and we’ll need to start better than we did on our previous visit. We don’t want to let them get a foothold in the game.”

Killie may have gone eight games in all competitions without a win but St Mirren manager Oran Kearney is not reading too much into the dip in form and remains “wary” of the Ayrshire side.

“I don’t think we read too much into previous games,” said Kearney.

“Yes we look at them and they will look at us but I think it is about who turns up on the night.

“Comingback from Christmas, they maybe haven’t had it the way they would have liked but with a side as consistent as that, it is so important we get our performance level right.”