UNDER-FIRE Kilmarnock boss Gary Locke last night remained defiant after bookies shortened the odds on him being axed.

The Ayrshire boss is under increasing pressure following Ross County's 4-0 demolition on Saturday.

Jonathan Franks, Andrew Davies and a Liam Boyce double had County four up inside 35 minutes at Rugby Park.

The result leaves Killie without a win and anchored at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Locke branded the performance as "unacceptable".

But he remains confident he is still the right man for the job and can transform the fortunes of a club who have already conceded 14 goals.

He said: "I'm here to do a job and I believe in myself and I believe in my ability. We've got to rally round and make sure we dig in.

"We're not giving ourselves a chance in games with the way we've started.

"The first half was embarrassing. It's maybe a lack of confidence but we're going to have to stick together.

"The last couple of games I thought we were getting there and improving. We've got to play better than that, that's unacceptable.

"We showed a bit of character in the second half but it's easy to play when you're 4-0 down, we've got to make sure we give ourselves a chance in games by doing our jobs."

Locke is now preparing to dip into the transfer market in a bid to reverse his team's alarming form slump.

He added: "It's difficult because the budget's spent, but the transfer window isn't closed.

"I think it's pretty evident after today that we need to strengthen at the back."

Fans were booing after five minutes and again at the full-time whistle.

Locke added: "The fans were quite right to boo. If you put in performances like that, you're going to get criticism. It's par for the course."