FOOTBALL is most certainly not a matter of life or death – as another Ayrshireman once famously suggested - but the people of Kilmarnock may feel they have endured enough hardship in recent years without their local club adding further to the gloom. From the closure of the famous Johnnie Walker bottling plant to the 170 people made redundant last year at the Mahle engineering firm, this is not a town that has had to look too far for recent hard luck stories. If watching football is meant to provide a form of levity and escapism from the drudgery of life, then there has been little sign of it for those who trudge down dutifully to Rugby Park in ever-decreasing numbers.
Scotland’s oldest professional club has been a staple in the top flight since 1993 but they will put that 23-year record on the line this afternoon when Falkirk visit for the return match of the playoff final looking to protect their narrow first-leg advantage. Manager Lee Clark’s primary priority will be to ensure Kilmarnock are still a Premiership side come the end of the day, but, as someone from solid working class Newcastle stock, he is well aware that in many towns and cities a football club stands as a pillar in the centre of its community.
“Economically the town has suffered and it’s not cheap to come and watch football,” he said. “We need to give them a product on the pitch that’s worthy of them coming to spend their well-earned money. That’s what I aim to do when I’m given the chance, and that’s what will happen.
“This is the biggest game [of his managerial career] because it’s the biggest game for a group of fans who I’ve got total respect for and the backing that they’ve given me and the group. It’s huge for them, we’ve got to do it for them, and then I can deliver, with my training programme, a team that’s worthy of them. That’s all in my mind.”
As striker Kris Boyd pointed out the other day, the football club is probably now one of the biggest employers in the town although the fall-out from relegation – should that transpire – could well impinge on that. Surprisingly, Clark does not expect his budget to change should the team go down, meaning there will either be savage cost-cutting in either scenario or he expects the club to be fully committed to winning promotion – ahead of the likes of Hibernian and Dundee United – should that transpire.
“This place is getting turned round in the summer no matter what,” added the manager. “I’m very, very confident in everything that I’m doing. We get the result, that’s even better, you do it from a higher level. But this club is starting to change, and will continue to do that. Judge me when I’ve had a chance to bring my own players in.”
With fitness doubts lingering over Josh Magennis, Clark will likely turn again to Boyd and Tope Obadeyi to score the goals that could seal Kilmarnock’s survival. Both scorned chances to score at the Falkirk Stadium in the first game but the manager retains faith in the pair.
“His track record tells you [he is someone who could prove important],” he said of Boyd. “When you’ve got someone who’s been there, seen it, done it, that’s what makes the difference and what sets him apart. Top scorers who have a lot of goals to their name, if you look over their career they’ve missed lots of chances, but they never turn down the next one. That’s what makes them different to all the other players. Other players will miss opportunities in a game and they’ll never want to get in those positions again because they haven’t got the confidence. We know that if we keep making good opportunities, the goals will come.”
And of Obadeyi, he added: “He did lots of good things. I’ll never criticise players for missing opportunities. What frustrates me as a manager is if you don’t make opportunities, or if you make them and people aren’t in there to try and accept them. He made a good run, got in on goal, took it around the keeper and just ran out of area. There’s no problem there.”
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