CHRIS BURKE has been around the game long enough to know that calm heads are needed in times of adversity. While most fans wouldn’t admit it, many of us do let our expectations run away with themselves as excitement for the new season builds, no matter who we support.
The inevitable buzz that arrives with the re-commencement of league football can, therefore, make poor form at the beginning of the season that little bit harder to take.
Kilmarnock supporters have now watched their side lose three games in a week, one of those a painful 5-0 thumping from champions Celtic in the last 16 of the Betfred Cup.
Saturday’s clash with Hearts, no strangers to early season strife themselves, was an opportunity to bounce back and kick-start the season for the Ayrshire men. Instead, the atmosphere inside Rugby Park turned sour as Lee McCulloch’s side slipped to a 1-0 loss, with Kirk Broadfoot being sent off in the process for an incident involving Hearts frontman Esmael Goncalves, who also saw red.
“It’s not always going to be like this,” Burke insisted after the match. “We are going to win games, it’s just a matter of time and we can’t put our heads in the sand we have to rise above it. The thing about football is that you can always change things week to week. You can feel very low one week and then the next week you’re on a high – you can always affect and change things.”
The 33-year-old lasted only 45 minutes at the weekend before being withdrawn in favour of Jordan Jones, taking in the second period from the sidelines as his teammates failed to overturn Goncalves’ early opener. Neither Burke nor the rest of the Kilmarnock set-up will have missed the anger which began to emanate from behind the dug-out as the game slipped out of reach, even at this early stage of the campaign.
The former Rangers man didn’t address the dissent in the stands directly, but his words could be construed as a call for patience as he insists Kilmarnock will get going sooner rather than later.
Getting points on the board in their next outing, however, will require a monumental effort as Kilmarnock host Celtic in Saturday’s early kick-off.
“It’s going to be very tough,” Burke admitted. “We played them last Tuesday in the cup and they’re a quality side, they even made a lot of changes and they’re still very strong.
“Celtic are obviously a very good team but we have to concentrate on ourselves and we’ve got a full week of training ahead to make sure we prepare and do better.
“What a way it would be to put things right, testing ourselves against the champions, we’re going to keep believing and make sure we stick together collectively as a group.”
As for any side in the Ladbrokes Premiership, breaking Celtic’s long unbeaten domestic run is very much a tall order given their recent dominance over the rest of Scottish football.“We can’t lose an early goal against Celtic,” added Burke. “You don’t want to concede early against any side, especially when you’re at home. Listen, it’s disappointing, but it’s not going to define our season.”
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