Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke has accused the SPFL of double standards after forcing his side to play Motherwell last weekend.

Unusually, the original fixture on February 27 had to be abandoned when fog enveloped Rugby Park.

With no scheduled fixtures for the following weekend, Kilmarnock had arranged a warm-weather training camp n Tenerife.

However, they were told by the SPFL that the match had to be played before the split, but that is in stark contrast to last season when a game with Hamilton was postponed on December 27, 2017 and was not played until April 14, 2018.

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Clarke said: “We were due to leave on Saturday but we left on Sunday instead. The league told us we had to play Saturday or Sunday which was very helpful of them.

“Credit to all the staff here that we managed to turn things around quickly to get the game on.

“If the game had been Sunday, we would have had to cancel our trip. We put alternative dates to them but they weren’t very accommodating.

“We played the game and got a decent point and that’s in the past. They said they wanted the games done before the split, but we played Hamilton post-split last year.

“I don’t think Stephen Robinson [Motherwell manager] was too happy either, but it is one of those things.”

Clarke, however, feels the Tenerife break has been a real tonic as he tries to end a winless run that has stretched to eight matches as he prepares for Monday’s trip to face St Mirren in Paisley.

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He said: “They are right in the mix with Dundee and Hamilton. They can all look forward to some big games in the coming weeks and they are like a cup final. So we have to be prepared for everything they throw at us and we have to do ourselves justice.”

Clarke also revealed that defender Scott Boyd has been given a one-year contract extension although the 32-year-old centre-back is out for the next few weeks with a knee injury,

The Kilmarnock managed said: “He deserves it because he has produced performances for me. Sadly, he is now out, but we have Alex Bruce coming back after injury.”