If Alex Dyer does indeed fancy a crack at the Kilmarnock job on a permanent basis, yesterday's defeat to Motherwell was far from the perfect audition.

The interim head coach at Rugby Park watched his charges fail to land a glove on the Steelmen when he really could've done with a strong showing at the very least.

Their usual pragmatic selves, yes, if a little disjointed.

Having taken over from Angelo Alessio - who was sacked on Tuesday - Dyer has previously openly admitted he'd consider taking the role as manager if it's offered.

But he'll need major improvements - and he knows it.

"We didn't get the result we wanted, but the boys gave their all," Dyer said.

"You're standing out there as a figurehead and you want to win the game. That's a normal reaction, obviously it wasn't to be.

"I just want us to do well as a football team, stay in the top half and try and win games.

"It's different being a number one for the day or whenever, it's nothing too different from what I'd do anyway.

"I didn't try and do anything different except the team talk.

"It's nothing new, I know what I need to do, if I got the job or didn't, I know what I need to do."

Eamonn Brophy headed a decent attempt just wide of Mark Gillespie's far-post with the first and only real action of a stuttering first-half, bereft of any real quality.

Jermaine Hylton had the ball in the back of the Killie net within six minutes of the restart, only for the assistant referee to rule it out.

Chris Long had wandered into an offside position - inexplicably on the goal line - and tapped in rather than leave it to trickle over.

James Scott forced Laurentiu Branescu into a decent parry a short time later as 'Well began to turn the screw.

And it wasn't long until they bagged themselves the opener through a stroke of Jake Carroll quality.

Mohamed El Makrini fouled his man on the edge of the area and Carroll stepped up to swerve a brilliant free-kick through the wall and into the top corner.

Chris Burke tried his luck for the hosts with a long drive which was punched clear by Gillespie before they blew a golden opportunity to level through Brophy.

Burke slipped Stephen O'Donnell in behind and his cut-back was perfect. The striker would have wanted the ground to swallow him up, though, when he blazed sky-high from eight yards.

It wasn't to be Brophy's day, as it proved seconds later, when his fizzing strike was well saved.

Liam Polworth missed a one-on-one to wrap up the points and Stephen O'Donnell had a shot saved at the death as 'Well hung on for the win.

Visiting manager Stephen Robinson beamed: "If you're going to come here and get results and be where we are in the table, you've got to be resilient and we showed that.

"A bit of quality wins the game and was the difference between the two sides."