Kilmarnock would require the support of the Bank of Scotland and would make cuts worth £1.5m should they suffer relegation on the season's final day.

But chairman Michael Johnston insists he is not contemplating going into administration or part-time football.

"If we went down, we would probably have to find cuts of about £1.5m," he told BBC Scotland ahead of Saturday's showdown with bottom side Falkirk.

"But there are no plans to go out of business or go part-time."

Kilmarnock go into the game at Rugby Park just two points ahead of Falkirk and needing to avoid defeat to retain their place in the Scottish Premier League.

And Johnston is confident that Jimmy Calderwood's side will prevail and maintain Killie's 17-year run in the top flight.

"We are looking at the game positively," he said. "It is going to be a big occasion, possibly as big as any cup final the club has ever played in, and that's the way it's got to be approached - as a cup final, winner takes all.

It is absolutely crucial both for the club and the whole community following on the announcement of the Johnnie Walker plant closure Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston

"We are aiming to win the match and we are aiming to be in the SPL next season. We came through a relegation battle last year and we got out of it with one match to spare.

"Unfortunately, this year it is going down to the wire, but the players should have gained a lot from the experience of surviving the relegation fight last year."

Johnston said Kilmarnock's survival in Scotland's top flight was important for the Ayrshire economy following a blow to the local drinks industry.

"It is absolutely crucial both for the club and the whole community following on the announcement of the Johnnie Walker plant closure," he said.

"The town has lost so much industry over the last 20 or 30 years and Kilmarnock's the last great institution once the Johnnie Walker plant closes.

"It would be a huge blow to the town and the community if we went down to the SFL, because it would be hard to get back up.

"It would be challenging because the budgets we have been working on have all been based on SPL income and, if we went into the Scottish Football League, we would probably have to find cuts of about £1.5m by conservative estimates.

"So we would need the support of the Bank of Scotland. The bank have been very supportive during my period as chairman over the last five years and we would hope that they would continue to support the club, particularly as it is such an important part of the local community and Kilmarnock has suffered so much due to loss of jobs and unemployment.

"The town needs something to keep it going and to attract in new families, new investment, new businesses and the football club can play a role in all that - and that has been recognised by the council and by advisors they have brought in to help the regeneration of Kilmarnock in the wake of the Johnnie Walker proposed closure in 2012, when 800 jobs are going to be lost in the area.

"It is important that the town has a focal point and the football club can be that focal point, but we need to be in the SPL and be performing at the top level to add to the attractiveness of the locality."

Johnston believes that, although times would be tough, his club could survive a drop into Division One and would hope to come straight back up.

"We are certainly a big enough club to do that," he said. "The SPL parachute payment of £250,000 in the first year following relegation obviously helps, but you also need the help of your local sponsors and businesses that provide a lot of entertainment and hospitality and advertising spend at a club like this.

"So everybody would have to pull together. But, hopefully, with the support of the bank and with the benefit of the SPL parachute payment, we could bounce back, as Inverness proved is possible."

Johnston pointed out that a victory could lift Kilmarnock into tenth place, which would be important as higher placings mean larger cash bonuses from the SPL.

"There are quite a few players coming out of contract," he said. "Even depending on whether we finish tenth or eleventh may influence how many of those players we can offer new contracts to for next season."

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