A PRE-SEASON friendly between Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle could become a protest against job cuts at drinks giant Diageo.

A PRE-SEASON friendly between Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle could become a protest against job cuts at drinks giant Diageo.

Fans are being urged to back the campaign to save hundreds of jobs at the firm's threatened Glasgow and Ayrshire plants.

The Kilmarnock outfit are already fighting the cuts in their town, with the club's website hosting a petition calling on Diageo to think again.

Now nationalist MSP Bob Doris is urging fans of both sides to show their support for stricken workers at next Wednesday's friendly.

He said: "Both football clubs have shown great determination to help communities retain threatened jobs.

"The pre-season friendly is an ideal opportunity for fans to turn out in significant numbers for the match and take a united stand against Diageo's plans.

"It would be good to see people who have not been to a game for a while, or even first-timers, make the effort to attend. I know the workers and the unions would very much appreciate this."

The call came as it emerged First Minister Alex Salmond was meet ing Diageo's chief executive Paul Walsh today to discuss its proposals to axe 900 jobs.

Mr Salmond said there was a "powerful counter-argument" to Diageo's plans.

Earlier this month the company announced proposals to shut its historic Johnnie Walker whisky bottling plant in Kilmarnock. The Johnnie Walker closure will account for 700 of the threatened job losses in Scotland while the others will come if the Port Dundas distillery in Glasgow is closed.

Diageo argues that the redundancies would be offset by the creation of 400 jobs at its packaging plant in Leven, Fife.

A joint campaign against the closure has been launched by various bodies including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow and East Ayrshire Councils, trade unions and local MPs and MSPs.