Former Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels says it is vital that the club can soon kick its losing habit.
Under Allan Johnston this term, Killie have lost six and drawn three of their opening nine league matches and ex-boss Shiels suggests they need to beat either Ross County or Heart of Midlothian before the campaign gets away from them.
"The games against County and Hearts are pivotal," Shiels, who was sacked last season, told the Daily Record.
"If you win the first one it makes beating Hearts an easier job. But if you lose the first one the chemistry remains bad and that carries on into the next game.
"The start the team has made to the season has been gnawing at the club as a whole and the habit of losing has to be broken."
He added: "Results are the key element at any club and they're the only thing that can change unhappiness behind the scenes.
"Disharmony creates apathy and apathy drags a club down. Acrimony comes from the same family as apathy and one tends to follow the other.
"And that's why I feel for Allan. There's so much going on at the club that's none of his doing. And every manager knows how it feels to go through periods when everything is going against you."
