KENNY McDOWALL has praised Kris Boyd for his no-holds-barred assessment of his faltering campaign.

The striker netted his tenth goal of the season in the 2-1 victory over Raith Rovers last Friday, but was critical of his performances this term in a frank interview last weekend.

The second-half strike at Stark's Park was far from Boyd's sweetest effort of the campaign, but it could prove to be one of the most important if he can kick on and hit the goal trail in the coming weeks.

A fit and firing Boyd would be a huge asset to Rangers as they look to finish second in the Championship and earn promotion via the play-offs.

And Ibrox boss McDowall is confident there is plenty more to come from the SPL's record scorer.

He said: "He's been working really hard in training. He needed the break he got. I'm not sure if he meant the miskick to get it on the way back, but sometimes that's what you need to get you going, so I'm delighted for him.

"I admire his honesty, first and foremost. It's big of him to come out and say that about himself. That tells you where he's at in his career at this minute in time. He's more mature now and he feels he should have done better.

"But he's still got time. There are enough games left to get himself up to where he feels he should be in terms of goals. It didn't seem to be affecting him on the training ground, more in the matches.

"We kept playing him hoping he would get the goal to get him going and he was getting a bit frustrated. He's a goalscorer and he wants to score goals. He knew himself [he had to do better]."