Blair Alston is adamant Kilmarnock aren’t just back in the Premiership to survive.
And the man who sealed the Ayrshire side’s return to the top flight believes the squad have the tools to do damage again in the big time.
Excitement is building around the town as Killie prepare to rejoin the country’s elite after last term’s first spell out of the top division in 28 years.
Derek McInnes’ men will face Dundee United at home in their league opener and preparation work for the big kick-off is already underway at the National Sports Training Centre in Largs.
As well as the excitement, there’s expectation amongst the support.
Alston knows the faithful want Killie to start mixing it instantly and bag results.
The midfielder says the squad have exactly the same views upon making an immediate impact as he explained: “If you go up saying, ‘we’re just here to survive’ then you are almost setting yourself up for failure.
“You are almost saying that winning every so often is good enough and we don’t want to be like that.
“We’re not probably expecting to win as many games as we did last year because we know the league is going to be a lot tougher but there’s no reason to go up and just win one in every five or six games.
“You want to try and win as many as you can. We’ll see how we get on but we’ll look to go and impose ourselves in the league and make an impact.”
Alston believes the squad is there and continued: “That was part of why we were so disappointed in a way throughout last season.
“We felt we had a squad which was good enough to play in the league above.
“We’ve retained a lot of those players and, obviously, the manager has added a couple already and potentially could add a few more.
“We certainly feel that we’re capable of doing well next year.
“It’s obviously going to be difficult but we certainly feel we’ve got a squad which can do well.”
Alston is amongst the experienced heads on whom McInnes will count upon in the season ahead and his status within the fanbase is already assured.
The 30-year-old was, of course, the one who sparked jubilant celebrations inside the home stadium when his last-gasp goal against Arbroath sealed the win and with it the league title.
He now has a special “Alston won the league at Rugby Park” chant in his honour from the Killie fans and he smiled: “The song is brilliant. It’s one of those things, you can’t ask for any better way to finish a season.
“The celebrations after the Arbroath game were great as there was a lot of pressure on us last season to win the league.
“Obviously, you’d always want to be further ahead and win it that way. We wanted to win it more comfortably but when it got to that situation, it couldn’t have gone any better.
“We did enjoy it but that’s done now. A week is a long time in football, so six or seven weeks off is a massive length of time.
“We enjoyed that moment but now we are looking forward to getting started again. It’s about getting ready for next season.”
Rugby Park was rammed for that memorable occasion and Alston feels the backing of the fans will be crucial again as they return to the top echelons of the Scottish game.
He said: “The fans throughout the season were good, particularly at the start when our home form wasn’t what we wanted. They showed their support.
“If the same number turns up then it is going to be a massive advantage for us.
“We were taking thousands to away games where other clubs were maybe only taking a couple of hundred. We know we have got the backing there. It is up to us to do it on the pitch.”
Having returned to training eight days ago at Rugby Park, this past week at Largs has been spent doing the hard yards.
Killie have the friendlies, a trip to Spain and Premier Sports Cup ties before the Premiership gets underway on July 30.
Alston said: “The boys are in early, we are looking fit and the fixtures coming out makes it feel a lot closer.
“It’s been a tough start to training and now we are looking forward to the games.
“We have got a few friendlies and then we are away to Spain the following week. Then we have more friendlies before our first cup game against Fraserburgh.
“It is good that we have got friendlies quite quick in the schedule so that it is not just running for the sake of running.
“When the games start up it gets your fitness up.”
Killie play their first fixture in public on Friday when Alston goes back to his former club Falkirk for a game which sees the opening of the Kevin McAllister Stand.
Alston hopes his old team also have a good term and said: “It is a club I would like to see do well.
“It is a shame how it ended for me in my last spell. They have been down the leagues for too long and they will be wanting to get up the league this year.”
