The former Kilmarnock player currently in charge of the side, temporarily for now at least, may well end up being the next permanent manager of the club.

But if and when Lee McCulloch does move on from Rugby Park, they won’t have to look too far to find a suitable candidate to replace him.

Striker Kris Boyd may have something of a reputation, fair or not, for not being the most dedicated of trainers, but he puts more thought into the preparation side of the game than perhaps he is given credit for.

Having completed his UEFA pro-licence already, the record-breaking goalscorer has made sure that he has all the tools required to stay in the game when he eventually does hang up his boots.

That thought is still far from his mind though, and after netting his seventh goal of the campaign with last week’s winner against Ross County, it is easy to see why the 33-year-old feels he still has plenty to offer on the playing field.

"I have got my UEFA pro-licence and I have done all the badges,” Boyd said.

"But my main focus is on playing. I have been helping the under 17s in the past couple of years and the under 20s this year.

"Is it something I want to get into? Yes it is. There is no point in me saying it is not. It would be a waste of time doing the badges if that was the case.

"It is a learning process for me and we will take it step by step and we will see what happens in the future. My main aim is to stay in the Kilmarnock team and score goals.

"It is good to hear people mention my name in terms of a coaching capacity going forward. For me right now there is no better feeling than scoring goals on a Saturday. I want to continue to do that. There is plenty of life left in me yet."

Boyd actually feels that his game has been helped by doing his coaching badges at such a relatively young age, giving him an appreciation of the game and what goes into it that he didn’t have previously.

"I did my 'B' and 'A' licence before I was 30, and I did my UEFA pro licence before I was 32,” he said.

"It was a massive learning curve seeing how the other side of the game worked.

"As a player, you get caught up in the selfish part of it and you look after yourself. Every player is the same they will look after themselves in the changing room and then the team will take care of itself.

"It was a total eye-opener but when you have to go out there yourself and do it and encourage people then you do take certain things for granted.

"I have never been one to be quiet in a dressing room so that has been a natural progression for me in terms of helping younger kids round about me and help them be the best that they can possibly be.”

Boyd’s immediate concern is the huge match looming at Rugby Park this afternoon against Partick Thistle, an encounter that will go a long way to determining the nature of the run-in for both sides.

“This is definitely a must-win game, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “We’re at home to Celtic and Hearts and away to Rangers before the split so we need to beat Thistle and then win away to Inverness the following week to get points in the bag.

“We also need to change our mentality for games at Rugby Park. We must start expecting to win our games instead of turning up and hoping that we win.

“We want teams to know that they’ll need to work damned hard to come to Rugby Park and get a result because that’s not been the case for the last few years.”