James Fowler says Kilmarnock’s first aim for season is to avoid the drop

James Fowler made 44 appearances for Kilmarnock last term.SNS Group

James Fowler says Kilmarnock will start the season with the same aim as every campaign, to avoid relegation from the SPL.

The Ayrshire side have finished the past two seasons in 7th and 5th place having been involved in the battle to beat the drop in 2009/10.

Last season manager Kenny Shiels helped guide the club to League Cup glory with a 1-0 win over Celtic in the final.

Rugby Park has hosted top flight football since the 1993/94 season and although Fowler feels he and his team-mates are set up for another good campaign, he won’t take anything for granted.

He told The Scottish Sun: “First and foremost, we need to make sure we stay in the league. With the size of our club and budget, that’s always the case.

“But obviously we’d like to have a similar campaign to last season — with another cup run hopefully.

“The League Cup was massive for the players and the club — it really helped Killie financially.

“The top six is the SPL target. We just missed out last season and that was maybe because we weren’t as consistent as other clubs.

“But on our day we are a match for anyone and it would be great if we could get into the top half this time.

“It’s all about being consistent. If we can improve on that, then hopefully we can push up the table.”

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