Football: Williamson plays it cool

THE KILMARNOCK manager, Bobby Williamson, is still refusing to set goals for his high-fliers, despite the Rugby Park outfit entering the new year firmly in contention for the title.

The Ayrshire club go into today's game at Motherwell knowing that, regardless of the result at Fir Park, they will remain second behind Rangers when the Premier League restarts on 30 January after its mid-winter break.

However, Williamson, who led Kilmarnock to Scottish Cup success in 1997, insists that talk of the championship at this stage is premature.

"I don't set targets," he said. "These days, two or three bad results can get a manager the sack, so looking that far forward has no merit.

Jerome Vareille's shoulder injury means Williamson must choose between the experience of Ally McCoist or the promise of Mark Roberts to partner Paul Wright in attack today.