Kilmarnock defender Lewis Mayo reckons Rangers and Scotland centre-back John Souttar is the perfect example for him to follow as he clocks up 100 games for the club.
The 24-year-old is set to reach the milestone appearance on Sunday when Killie host Souttar’s Gers at Rugby Park in front of the Sky cameras (12pm kick-off).
And he believes he can take inspiration from his Rangers counterpart’s career trajectory that has ultimately led him to being a Scotland regular – something Mayo says he aspires to replicate.
Despite injuries holding him back, Souttar clocked up a decade of top flight experience during spells at Dundee United and Hearts prior to making the move to Ibrox.
Mayo said: “He’s a good example for me. The sort of career path he’s taken. Him being a few years ahead of me, looking at the way he’s developed, playing in Scotland I think he’s got his game to a really good level and he’s shown himself with the national team, the level he can get to and perform at.
“I can draw confidence from that and think that I want to mimic that if I can. I think with defenders, everything comes a bit slow and I think experience is more important.
“It’s something to be patient with and in the back of my mind, it’s a personal ambition of mine but I know to give myself the best chance, I need to keep my levels as high and consistent as I can.”
Reflecting on his Killie ton, he commented: “I’ve loved my time here. I think it’s been really good for me, being a Kilmarnock player.
“I feel like there’s been progression as a team each season which for me personally is good to be part of. My first season here was my first season in the top flight, following year we get fourth and this year we get European football and we want to kick on and go again.
“As a young player, people say you’re not an established player until you play 100 games so it’s a good milestone.”
The former Rangers youth player is looking to mark the milestone in style and says they can take belief from having beaten the Gers – and Celtic twice – at Rugby Park last term.
He said: “I think you need to draw confidence from it but at the same time, you need to recognise what we did well in those games as well. How hard we were to play against, how cynical we were with space and time on the ball in possession but also that belief that we’ve got a punch in us.”
It’s perhaps not quite been the start to the season for either the club or the player that had been hoped – but he says level-headedness has helped guide him through, and feels their dramatic fightback against Dundee last time out can be a launch pad for a successful campaign.
He said: “I think when the fixtures are as congested as they were at the start of the season, it exaggerates everything.
“If you’re on a good run, everything feels brilliant and if you’re on a tough run everything feels terrible. I think the key is just to try and stay as level-headed as possible.
“Sometimes the best way to get over a game is to go and play the next one. The good thing is that the last game, we win going into the international break, so we feel better and we’re just trying to ride that wave into Sunday.”
He added: “It was just that relief. Everyone feels better for it. I think it was a long time coming, there’s a few games where we thought we’d have done it earlier but over the course of the season, the teams that stay calm, level-headed, it pays off because at the end of the season, it’s about consistency.
“Even with the European performances, there was a feeling that we didn’t get what we deserved from the performances but sometimes in football you create your own luck and sometimes you just need to keep going and grind until you get it.”