Kilmarnock want to be back in the top six in the SPL and are keen to start the fight back there tonight against Celtic.

Defender Frazer Wright is giving Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies something to worry about ahead of tonight's game against Celtic. He missed out on Saturday's 0-0 draw with Aberdeen due to knee injury which is still troublesome. Jeffries could add Ryan O'Leary to the Killie squad for the first time since the opening game of the season. O'Leary has finally recovered from dislocating his shoulder against Hibs last August. The Rugby Park side are currently seven points adrift of sixth-placed Motherwell and Jefferies knows his side face a run of vital games which will determine whether they can haul themselves back into the top half. Jefferies insists a positive result tonight against Celtic can act as a springboard for a late charge into the top six. Kilmarnock have not won at home in the SPL since last November but Jefferies insists if they can take anything from the game it will be a major boost for their remaining fixtures ahead of the split.

Jefferies said: "This is a tight league and everyone who's around six or seven points behind will still have a chance of getting in the top half. But if you lose games then you've got a chance of being dragged down the bottom. We know we need to pick up points and, although this is a tough one, we have games coming up that'll be huge for us and ones we need to do well in. If we can get something against Celtic it'll give us a huge boost. We have the likes of Inverness, Motherwell and Falkirk after we play Celtic - they'll be huge games. If we perform well then we'll get a huge lift in confidence and every point is important at this stage of the season. The fact we've not won at home for a long time or won this year doesn't matter; if we even get a draw, it'll be a good result. But we won't play for a draw, we'll try to win the game."

Jefferies did not want to talk about Willie Gibson throwing his jersey away when he was substituted against Aberdeen as the matter has been dealt with internally. He said: "It's something that shouldn't have happened; it was an act of petulance and we've dealt with that internally. The matter has been dealt with, his actions were not acceptable and we'll leave it at that."

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink misses out on the trip to Rugby Park after he passed the disciplinary points total with the yellow card he picked up in the Old Firm game at Celtic Park last month. Celtic manager Gordon Strachan will also have to cope without Barry Robson (groin) and Shaun Maloney, Paddy McCourt and Koki Mizuno (all hamstrings) and Lee Naylor, who aggravated a calf complaint against St Mirren on Saturday. Defender Glenn Loovens gave Kilmarnock a simple tip for preventing their nemesis Shunsuke Nakamura punishing them - do not give away free-kicks away on the edge of the box. The Japanese international has scored on twice this season against Jefferies' side, taking his tally against them to eight since he arrived at Celtic in the summer of 2005.

His last-gasp free-kick at Rugby Park in April 2007 clinched the SPL title and in Saturday's 7-0 rout of St Mirren, the Japan international showed he has lost none of his ability with a dead-ball, thrashing a 25-yard effort past the helpless Chris Smith to complete his hat-trick. Killie, fresh from a goalless draw against Aberdeen at the weekend, will not relish the former Reggina player travelling down the A77. Asked what he would ask his players to do if he was managing a club against Nakamura, Loovens said: "Don't give the free-kicks away - that's probably the best thing. If it is in a great position then we all know what he is capable of so best to keep him as far from goal as possible. He's a great player and can make the difference, as you saw the other day against St Mirren. So let's hope he scores again." Strachan admits Nakamura will be first name on his teamsheet but played down notions of a hoodoo over Kilmarnock. He said: "There would be question marks about my sanity if I left him out. There hasn't been many other hat-tricks this season. There are players who like to play against certain teams. But I never won a thing in 21 years going to Newcastle as a player, coach and then manager. I still got picked by the managers - maybe that's the reason we never won. So there are places you like to play and some you don't but you can never tell what can happen in a game."
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