Hamilton: 24h on

Few of the 6000 fans who watched the derby would argue with Billy Reid's view that Hamilton deserved something from the game. The Accies support, perched in the top section of the South Stand, saw their first half dominance swept away when Clarkson scored moments before the interval. They were to travel the few miles home rueing the missed chances and regretting the fine performance of Smith in our goal.

SPL standings after 25 games

Killie held Hibs to a draw and as a result we were able to close the two point gap on the Easter Road outfit. The split may have its critics but there's no doubt that it gives added interest to those teams stuck between the relegation one and the European places.

Mark McGhee made some interesting comments in Saturday's programme notes. He felt that the disquiet shown by the fans at the previous week's game against St Mirren was not justified. He argued that the state of the pitch had prevented the 4-3-3 formation from playing the preferred passing game and that the system was changed at half time. He also suggested that the team had three strikers - presumably he meant Clarkson, O'Brien and Hughes.

Everyone who saw the teams at the warm-up knew that the surface was uneven and that it would only deteriorate as the afternoon wore on. Everyone knew when the team was announced that we had only one recognised striker in the team. And everyone knew after the first five minutes that the system was not working. Why did it take a further forty minutes for the manager to make the change which was so badly needed?

At least there should be no debate about the surface on Thursday. By all accounts the pitch at St Mirren's new home is good and we should be able to pass long or short all game long.