Kris Doolan plays down fan exchange after Kilmarnock’s winless run continues

Kilmarnock interim boss Kris Doolan has played down the altercation between Dominic Thompson and two home supporters in the aftermath of their 1-0 defeat to Falkirk.

The Killie defender appeared to be involved in a heated exchange with the fans following the William Hill Premiership loss, with David Watson and Robbie Deas both trying to calm the situation.

However, Doolan insists that the incident simply a result of frustrations boiling over.

“I think it’s just a bit of frustration, probably from both sides,” Doolan said.

“We don’t want to see that, I think the club will look into it. There was nothing untoward said.

“Everybody wants the best for the club, we just need to channel that into the best way we can find, which is obviously winning.”

The Rugby Park side are now 11 matches without a victory after falling to the Bairns.

Brian Graham bagged the only goal of the game in the 54th minute and, despite a late push, Killie were unable to find a leveller.

However, following his first match in charge, Doolan felt there was plenty of cause for optimism.

“I thought we were really good in the first half, you could see there was a change in mindset and in the style of play,” he added.

“For me there was loads of positives to take from the first half especially.

“Unfortunately just now, the luck that is going against the club is tough to take – but that turns. We have to learn and come back stronger.”

Falkirk boss John McGlynn insists he was never worried despite his side going four games without a goal prior to Graham’s strike at Rugby Park.

The Bairns have drawn level with Aberdeen in sixth place in the table after a battling display.

McGlynn admitted the Bairns did not produce the free-flowing style of football that they have become renowned for but was delighted as his men showed their steel.

“It’s a huge three points, we know that for us to stay in that area where we are right now and potentially go that little bit higher, then we needed to come here and win.” McGlynn said.

“Today was more of a grind out than it was a silky soccer performance, we had to battle.

“Kilmarnock have changed their manager and sometimes there’s a little bit of a lift in that. You could see they were really up for the fight and I thought they outfought us in the first half.

“In the second half we managed to match them for that fight and got the significant goal.

“It’s obviously nice to end the goal drought, I’ve also got belief in the players that they will deliver, it was never a concern for me —  we’ve come a long way in a very short period of time.”