KRIS BOYD has built a career on those ruthless, robotic reactions of his in the penalty box but even goal machines have feelings, you know.

KRIS BOYD has built a career on those ruthless, robotic reactions of his in the penalty box but even goal machines have feelings, you know. Ahead of tonight??s Petrofac Training Cup semi-final against Alloa Athletic, the 31-year-old stripped away all the bullishness and bravado and laid bare some of the insecurities he usually keeps well hidden.

After a demoralising run of trudging forlornly from the field, without a goal to his name, around the hour mark, this usually confident gunslinger said last night that he was simply surprised that Ally McCoist hadn??t taken him out of the firing line sooner. A short, cathartic period of soul searching ?? his starting berth was taken by Jon Daly ?? appeared to be rewarded when he came off the bench to score within 90 seconds of his arrival against his former team Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.

??I spoke to the manager at length about it before the Hearts game,?? said Boyd. ??It was for the best. He has given me umpteen opportunities this season and it just wasn??t happening. Usually you get one, two, three games when you??re taken off after 60 minutes. I went on a run of about seven or eight. So in that respect, I thought I would have been back on the bench a lot sooner.

??For me it was a good chance to re-evaluate everything and work hard on my game,?? he added. ??It was good to get a goal on Sunday but now I want to get myself back into the starting line up. That??s the next challenge for me.??

Boyd may yet go on to attain his goals this season, but for someone for whom hitting the target is a matter of personal esteem, he has every reason to feel underwhelmed by his current return. He has nine in total, but only two in the league. So desperate had he become to add to that tally that it was affecting his entire mindset.

??I was missing a chance and thinking, ??oh no, that??s me for the day again??,?? said Boyd. ??I??ve never thought like that in the past. It was always if I missed one I would get back in for another. Confidence is low, so you go on a run of games when you haven??t scored, when you haven??t even looked like scoring, and that was unusual for me.??

??During matches you make stupid runs, thinking that the ball might come there even though you know it won??t,?? he added. ??You??re trying to make things happen instead of letting them happen. I??ve always said it??s easier for defenders to mark when forwards are buzzing around in the box. If strikers stand still then it??s the defenders who need to be active and you can get away from them in one movement. I was trying two or three movements to get away from them and it just wasn??t happening.??

Now, having resolved to do more in training, but less in games, he feels no inclination to panic. ??It??s December,?? said Boyd. ??There is a long, long way to go before the season is over. If we??re sitting here come May and I still only have nine or 10 goals then we can speak about things in a different way. But I will get to a mark that I??m happy with. If you asked a lot of strikers whether they??d be happy with nine goals at this stage then I??m sure they would be. I??m not. I want more.

??I??ve scored a few goals in the cups,?? he added. ??I didn??t plan it like that. But if it means I get another couple against Alloa then so be it.??

The Petrofac Training Cup, it must be said, has not been kind to Rangers to date, nor have Barry Smith??s side been the easiest of opponents. There was a chastening quarter-final defeat to Queen of the South two years ago, then final humiliation against Raith Rovers last year, while twice already this season these particular Wasps have proved a pest with 1-1 draws. Their game plan will be equally cagey tonight, in a match played to the finish.

??It will be tough, really tough,?? said McCoist, who won??t risk Lee Wallace??s injured ankle on the artificial surface at the Indodrill Stadium, with Richard Foster likely to continue to deputise for the suspended Steven Smith at left-back. ??Alloa are a good side and the two games we??ve played against them have been really tough games. I wouldn??t expect them to play for penalties but I don??t think they will change the way they play.??

While other Championship sides, such as Hearts, have thumbed their nose at one of Scotland??s less fashionable competitions, for Rangers, winning it has become a rather unlikely obsession. The ideal scenario for everyone at the club would be to win the thing this year then never have to bother with it ever again.