Kilmarnock assistant boss Jimmy Nicholl spent five years delivering tactics to Danny Lennon – and says the St Mirren boss was always destined for the dugout.

Nicholl took charge of Raith Rovers on two occasions, regularly deploying Lennon in the centre of midfield during both of his spells at Stark's Park.

The St Mirren gaffer made over 100 appearances for the Kirkcaldy club, helping his side lift the 1994 Coca-Cola Cup before scoring against Bayern Munich in Europe the following season.

Nicholl, who oversaw each of those highly memorable games, never had any doubt that Lennon would one day make the move into management.

He said: "I remember Danny very well from our time at Raith Rovers together. He's a football man. He always wanted to be on the ball and never liked it if it just simply went from back to front.

"There are certain players who come into training and contribute nothing to the day. They just do their job and then go home.

"Danny was never one of them. He was always in really early, having a bit of craic with everybody. He was great to have around the place, with all of the lads, young or old.

"He trained well, and I thought of him as a good enthusiast. When that's the case then the tendency is usually to stay in the game, so I always knew there was a chance he would go down the managerial route."

Both Kilmarnock and St Mirren are expected to be on a high, having navigated their passage to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Communities League Cup.

The midweek ties were littered with upsets, as Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen all succumbed to lower-league opposition.

However, Killie eased past Queen of the South with a 5-0 victory, while the Buddies disposed of St Johnstone.

Nicholl added: "Those results will have set both of the sides up well. The style of the match should be attractive so we're expecting a good game."