Kilmarnock coach Peter Leven hopes the Rugby Park men can finally find an even keel after their season of incredible ups and downs.

The Ayrshiremen checked themselves into the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup after beating St Johnstone 1-0 in Perth on Saturday.

It was a performance that matched their two highlights of the season so far - two draws against Ladbrokes Premiership leaders Celtic.

But it was also a massive surprise from a side that have struggled to string two results together.

Killie have been on the receiving end of some heavy defeats from Dundee, Ross County, Partick and Aberdeen as they slipped into the relegation play-off zone.

But after backing up their 2-2 league draw with Hearts a fortnight ago with their cup win over Saints, Leven hopes it can finally spark a run of consistency when they host Inverness on Saturday.

Gary Locke's No.2 said: "We know the lads' capabilities. They are a good team when you look at the experience in there and the young talented boys we have.

"It's just that consistency that is the issue for us.

"They turned it on against a St Johnstone side sitting fourth in the table and for most of the game we were on top. Yes they came at us in the last 10 or 15 minutes but we matched them and played some nice stuff. We could even have scored some more goals.

"That's the positive for us and we have got to take something from that.

"Football is a rollercoaster and we're on that ride right now. It's now about trying to find a smoother path.

"Hopefully with the draw at home to Hearts and the win against Inverness we can now kick on from here. Momentum is such a big word in football and you just need to stretch out the results when they come your way.

"The reaction of the players at the end of the St Johnstone game, the way they stuck together and the three saves from Jamie MacDonald has got to give everyone a lift. Now we need to kick on from here.

"It would be big headed to think we are too good to go down. We're where we are because of results. The only way we get out of this position is to dig deep and get some results on the board."

Striker Josh Magennis and defensive pair Stevie Smith and Kevin McHattie all miss Caley Thistle's visit after collecting their sixth bookings of the campaign.

But Leven admits boss Locke has been frustrated by the timing of their one-match bans, joking: "We were talking about that this morning. How can three of them be out for the one game? They could have at least staggered it for us."