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Lochlin Highet

Kilmarnock v Celtic: Rory McKenzie wants another special day against Premiership champions

Rory McKenzie admits he'd love another special day against Celtic at Rugby Park.

The midfielder has been involved in Kilmarnock wins over the Glasgow side over the years, and he'd love to do it again.

He featured when Youssouf Mulumbu scored the winner in a 1-0 victory and was subbed on late just before Stuart Findlay headed home in a dramatic 2-1 win.

And he'd love to experience another famous victory on Sunday when his side welcome the Scottish Premiership champions to town.

He said: “If we go toe-to-toe with Celtic there will only be one winner.

“We will be set up to stop them playing, make fouls, slow it down then try to play when we get the ball.

“We don’t want it to be a free-flowing spectacle.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. We got results under Steve Clarke, we never played out from the back.

“It was about being hard to play against and make it tough for them.

“They have good players and if you give them time it will be an easy afternoon for them.

“I watched some of Celtic’s games last season and you can see how well they handle the ball and how well they move.

“We need to get against them to stop them.”

He added: “I came off the bench about 20 seconds before Stuart scored.

Kilmarnock's Stuart Findlay wheels away after heading a late winner (SNS Group)

“I remember the gaffer said to me after it that I was the difference there.

“I remember Stu’s goal and his terrible celebration but it was a good day.

“We have had a number of them here and we would love another one.”

Killie could be boosted with the return of Chris Stokes, Blair Alston and Jordan Jones this weekend.

Zach Hemming and Scott Robinson remain long-term crocks for the Ayrshire side.

On the Celtic clash, boss Derek McInnes said: “For clubs like us, it’s important we are confident out of possession.

“Celtic will dominate the ball for long spells and we have to be happy out of possession, we have to take confidence from our work doing that.

“At the same time we don’t want the game to be stretched because Celtic have players who can exploit the extra space.

“Against Rangers we did that well and they had three shots on target but scored two goals.

“For the vast majority of the game we were comfortable enough.

“This game is an opportunity for us to try to go and show a bit more of ourselves and that’s the intention.

“I want to be as positive with the team line-up as we can and our approach to it.

“We have to be respectful and not naive enough to think it’s going to be straightforward and it’s all about what we do in possession.

“The key for us to get something is when we don’t have the ball.

“Hopefully we can have more of the ball than last week and cause Celtic a problem.

“If we can have that mindset and get off to a positive start it will do wonders for us taking on a team like Celtic.

“We want to plant a seed of doubt, I want us to have good personality and approach to the game.

“I don’t want us to feel inferior against good players, it’s important to have the confidence and belief to go and get something."

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