Kris Boyd today tipped Lee McCulloch to be a top mentor for Kilmarnock’s young colts.

The former Rangers skipper has agreed a three year player-coach deal with Gary Locke’s Premiership outfit.

The move sees him teaming up once again with Boyd and fellow-Rangers reject Steven Smith at Rugby Park.

And Boyd has no doubts the 37-year-old former Scotland star will make a huge impact on the Ayrshire club.

He said: “He’s had a career at the highest level, north and south of the border. He has great experience and he’ll be looking to pass that on.

“For Kilmarnock, it’s a great opportunity to bring in a young coach to work with Gary and hopefully there will be stability at the club for the next few years.

“Lee played 40-odd games for Rangers last year, so it would be pretty difficult to just hang the boots up.

“But he’s the same as everyone else; if he’s performing he’ll be in the team, if he’s not, he’ll be out of it. That’s the way the manager is.”

Boyd is looking to kick-start his own career after his return to Rangers last season turned sour.

He failed to make the impact of his first spell at Ibrox, hitting just 10 goals in 43 appearances for a Rangers team playing in the second tier.

But the striker, now in his third spell at Killie, remains confident in his ability to find his goal touch again this season.

He said: “In terms of last season, it’s best just to cut it all off. There’s not a lot of positives to take from it. Now it’s time to get my head down and get ready for the new season and start scoring goals again.”