Partick Th 1-4 Kilmarnock: Locke not angered by player fracas

Both Jamie Hamill (pictured) and Josh Magennis were on the score sheet for Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke indicated he had no problem with Josh Magennis's apparent head-butt on team-mate Jamie Hamill.

The two appeared to come together in the first half of Kilmarnock's 4-1 win over Partick Thistle.

"That just shows two boys who are committed and want to win," Locke told BBC Scotland.

"That's what we needed today and that's what we got. Quite happy with that as long as we win.

"Players will argue on the football pitch, but that's the kind of desire I want in the teams I manage."

Locke admitted he had been having "sleepless nights" as the threat of relegation had hovered over his club.

The Rugby Park side finally secured their top-flight status with the win, consigning Motherwell to a relegation play-off.

"Obviously we're delighted to make sure that we stay in the league but I don't think it's anything to celebrate," he said.

"We're disappointed with the run that we've been on.

"It's a relief. I'm glad we've set the record straight.

"We were in a position a couple of months ago where we should never have found ourselves in this position today."

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald felt the scoreline was harsh on his side, but that they had paid the price for their defending at set-pieces.

He said: "There wasn't a lot in it, we probably had the better of the ball, but we can't defend the way we defended.

"The set-plays and obviously the penalty have changed the game totally. It's been a bit of a wake-up call because we know how important set-plays are in football, they're fine margins.

"They didn't down tools today, they just didn't defend properly. The players over the course of the season have been very good and we want to go out with a victory next week at Motherwell."