Kilmarnock's Rory McKenzie wants his side to restore their solidity and get opposition teams wary of facing them again.

The Rugby Park side have had a disappointing start to the season after two memorable and record-breaking campaigns.

A Europa League shock defeat to Connah's Quay Nomads was an unwelcome start for manager Angelo Alessio after replacing Steve Clarke and back -to-back Premiership defeats against Rangers and Hamilton have sapped confidence.

McKenzie said opposition players told him they didn't like playing against Kilmarnock last season because they were tough to crack and he wants that reputation back, starting with this weekend's League Cup clash with Accies.

He said: "We found out last year winning breeds confidence and we need that first win.

"We'd probably rather it had been a league game this Saturday just to get points on the board, but it's the cup and let's just win the game.

"We need to get back to doing what we were good at last year, being tough to beat.

"We need to have a better shape and not be so easy to play against. That was the biggest thing. We spoke to boys last year that we played against and they hated playing against us and we need to get back to that.

"Teams hated coming here, which wasn't the case in years past. When teams hate coming to play you that's a really good thing, so we need to find that again.

"It was the opposite last year, we got off to a flyer by picking up early points. Football is all about confidence and right now we are probably a bit low, but the game on Saturday gives us a great chance to build.

"Although I've said I'd rather it was a league game the cup is massive for the players and the fans.

"It's probably what was missing last year, a decent cup run. So anything to lift the mood a bit, lift the fans and the players is only good for us."

Alessio has made it clear he still hopes to add new faces to his squad and McKenzie says reinforcements would be welcome.

"Even last year the manager was still looking for more players as you need that competition for places," he said.

"(Eamonn) Brophy is up front himself just now. We've got young Innes (Cameron), who did really well on loan last year, but you need more experience.

"We need two players for each position and right now we've not got that. But we've still got time and Kilmarnock normally do their business late on with loan deals and seeing if there are free agents out there.

"We've still got time to get players in but we do definitely need a few."