Tommy Wright is willing to put up with the "nightmare" of managing Kyle Lafferty because of the extra edge the striker has brought to Kilmarnock.

The well-travelled Northern Ireland forward has scored twice in three games for the Rugby Park, who sit bottom of the Scottish Premiership with six games of the season remaining

However Wright says Lafferty has helped off the pitch, too.

"You can't turn your back on him for a second or he's at something," he said.

"That's a good thing, because he's added another wee edge to the camp. Kyle's been a lift to the other strikers. When they do finishing sessions with them he's brought the standard up.

"He's an absolute nightmare to manage on a daily basis but I think everybody knows that with Kyle."

Wright, who won the Scottish Cup with St Johnstone in 2014, believes saving Kilmarnock from relegation would equal anything else he's achieved in his 20-year coaching and management career.

He has yet to guide the Ayrshire men to victory since joining the club in February and admits the task in hand is harder than he initially envisaged.

"Yes that would be a fair assumption to make," he said.

"We haven't done enough over 90 minutes but also we've made mistakes that I don't see Monday to Friday; just lapses in concentration. The training has been high quality every day.

"I knew it was going to be tough when I took the job. I believed then I could do enough to keep us in this league, and I still believe that.

"The enormity of the job now with the position we're in is massive. If we can do it, it will rank up with any of the achievements I've had in managing or coaching since I started."