DEREK McINNES says Kyle Lafferty is available for tonight’s clash with St Johnstone — despite a possible ten-game SFA ban hanging over him.
Lafferty was an unused sub in Saturday’s defeat by Aberdeen but could come into contention for tonight’s Rugby Park match.
The 35-year-old has been charged with alleged use of sectarian language but must wait until October 20 for his hearing.
Boss McInnes said: “He’ll be available. I’ve said what I’ve said about that and I don’t want to go on about it.
“Kyle’s brought this situation on himself and we have to deal with the consequences of that.
“He’s fine fitness-wise. He missed a few days with Northern Ireland with a little back complaint but he’s been training absolutely fine.”
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The prospect of Lafferty undergoing counselling has been mooted.
And McInnes added: “We’ve spoken to Kyle and we’ve demonstrated what we want to get from this.
“It’s not just a fine. The biggest thing for me — and it should go a long way — is the fact that he’s owned up to it and he’s very apologetic and remorseful for what he’s said.
“As a club, we wanted certain things put in place that we feel may help him going forward.”
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McInnes signed a new Killie deal last week which ties him to the club until 2026.
He said: “We were both happy to commit for a long period for there to be that certainty about what we’re trying to do.
“There has to be a relationship and a belief on both sides that there’s more to come.
“I feel like I’m working with good, like-minded people who want the club to be the biggest animal it can be and who want to drive it forward.
“Being relegated was a real sore one for the club, so it shows what can happen when things aren’t done right. Now we’re back in the Premiership it’s important we heed the warning and don’t take our foot off the gas.
“It’s not always easy getting out of the Championship but, in the conversations I’ve had with the board, they feel as though there’s a lot more to come.
“I’ll be able to utilise the budget I have next season and have a bit more scope, but to do that the recruitment side of it will be vitally important to make this squad better.
“It’s important to drive standards and create a culture that we think we can improve on.
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“How we operate as a club is going to be vitally important, but I’ve been given that responsibility.
“We’ve spoken to the players about where we want to be going into the World Cup break.
“We want to be in a semi-final — we’ve got Dundee United in a couple of weeks’ time — and we certainly want to be higher in the league than we are now.
“We’ve a run of nine games with plenty of home games and no Old Firm within that.
“The biggest drain on confidence is shipping cheap goals and we did that on Saturday. We’ve got to be better than that.”
Jordan Jones made his first league start of the season at Pittodrie after missing pre-season with a thigh injury.
The winger said: “It’s been frustrating. I got the first muscle injury and thought I was going to be back, but in my first training session I had the same issue.
“Saturday was my first start in many months, so it’ll take a few games to get to match sharpness.
“This is a club I feel at home at. The last time I was here it was a brilliant time for everyone at the club.
“Two of the three years here was the best football of my career and I need to get back to that.”
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Liam Donnelly, Ryan Alebiosu and Fraser Murray are all likely to miss tonight’s game.
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