Kilmarnock remain in dangerous Premiership territory as Callum Hendry’s second-half header for Aberdeen left the Ayrshire side with their eighth successive league defeat.

New Rugby Park boss Tommy Wright knew the vulnerability of the club’s situation when he took over from Alex Dyer a fortnight ago, but he would have been buoyed by a performance that will offer them hope that they can retain their top-tier status as Hamilton, Ross County and Motherwell also feel the cold chill of potential relegation.

Conversely, the hiss of pressure release audible from the home dugout as the final whistle

blew was relief that a six-game run without scoring a goal had come to an end with manager

Derek McInnes hoping the mutterings of disquiet from a section of the Dons support will subside.

“It has been a tough spell,” he admitted, “but I think it’s a reminder you have to enjoy the good times more. That’s something I’ve maybe learned.

“When you play for this club and manage this club there are demands and I don’t think we are ever as good as people say we are when we’re doing well. It’s trying to keep that balance. You have to accept that when you work for this club there are people who will have a go.”

And it was a 21st minute bullet of a header from January signing Hendry, on loan from St Johnstone till the end of the season, that lifted the gloom. The striker had been on the pitch for only a minute having replaced the injured Fraser Hornby and he was pleased there was no challenge from a Killie defender when Niall McGinn’s free-kick was swung into the area.

It was enough to separate the teams in a tight tussle where the visitors were not without opportunities with Nicke Kabamba spurning a couple while a Ross McCrorie strike from distance rattled the Kilmarnock crossbar as the hosts sought a more convincing scoreline.

“We have to win more games; we have to score more goals,” McInnes conceded. “We are

better than most teams. We are not as bad as people say, but we still have to go and win games of football. It’s only one win but it was badly needed.

“We want to make sure when the split comes we are in as good form as we can be because that’s when everything gets sorted out. We know if we are winning games we will have a chance of third.”

Wright, meanwhile, is more concerned with moving the Rugby Park side out of the malaise they find themselves in.

“I thought we did enough to get a point, though probably not enough to win all three,” he said as he pointed the finger of blame at his defence. “It was the same old story. We shot ourselves in the foot by giving away a soft free-kick. We didn’t deal with it though. We had the information on who was picking up Hendry and they didn’t do it.”

Wright blamed poor decision making for his side’s Pittodrie failure but insists confidence should not be an issue.

“We gave everything to get back in the game,” he added, “but ultimately a severe lack of quality in putting the ball into the box for the strikers let us down. It’s decision making; it’s nothing to do with confidence.

“I knew it was a team which was on a bad run and I hoped to improve it quicker, but it was always going to be difficult.

“Ultimately, we have to turn performances into points.”