LEE CLARK has made a promise to long-suffering Kilmarnock supporters that he will give them a team they deserve for next season despite his side trailing Falkirk in the Premiership play-off.
The manager at Rugby Park was in a buoyant and bullish mood less than 24 hours after a last minute goal gave the Championship outfit what could be a vital advantage ahead of Sunday's winner takes all second-leg.
Defeat for Kilmarnock would have devastating consequences for a football club hardly flushed with money despite their long existence in the top tier. Clark, however, is only thinking about staying in the Premiership and how he firmly believes he can give the people what they want.
“It’s a football match and I know there’s a lot at stake but the most important people at this club are the supporters and we need them so much for this game,” said Clark.
“What I can say to them is that once Sunday is out of the way, what has happened here won’t happen again from this summer onwards. The fans have had to suffer this for the last three or four years but I’ll give them the team they deserve.
“I’ll give them something they can be proud of and which will make them want to come back in numbers. However, in terms of the match itself, we’ll try and treat it as a normal game. When you play in big games and get caught up in the occasion, you never get the result you want.
“It’s difficult to keep asking them (the supporters) to back us when they haven’t had much to shout about for so long now.
"But if they give us one more go on Sunday and we get the result we need then I’ll put my head on the block and promise that this won’t be the scenario in future.”
These are bold words from Clark and he is set to make a bold decision before kick-off regarding trikerJosh Magennis, a real threat when on his game, who missed Friday’s game and is a doubt once again. The Northern Irishman has a tight hamstring but so important is he that he might be asked to risk his fitness for the cause.
A big decision for Magennis who has a once-in-a-lifetime European Championship just weeks away.
“We are still waiting on Josh and it might go down to the very last minute,” said Clark. “We will give him every opportunity, even the chance of taking a risk with him if he’s prepared to do it. That risk might be that if we need him with 30 minutes to go then we’ll throw him on.
“That has to be a conversation between me and him. If he is prepared to do it...he is a big player for us in every sense of the word.”
Gary Dicker, the Kilmarnock midfielder, does not have to be told what this match means. If only it was just about the football.
“Everyone doesn’t want a relegation on their CV first of all but my family as well,” said Dicker. “When I was younger I’d only be worrying about myself, you’re going home on your own and didn’t have anything to worry about.
“But the pressure comes with any job, it’s the same for anyone, people are let go from their job every day of the week that will have families. I don’t want to be part of something like that when you’re going home disappointed at being relegated.
“There are different pressures for different people. There are younger lads that probably don’t have the pressures of the older lads with kids and mortgages and stuff like that. I’m sure they realise it now after Friday night."
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