LEE CLARK made an impassioned if not entirely convincing declaration yesterday that he was not on the verge of walking out of Kilmarnock.

It has emerged that the Englishman seriously lost his temper with the players, some eleven of them having arrived during the summer, after they had to fight back from being 2-0 down to Berwick Rangers in a midweek Betfred Cup match.

There was a even a suggestion he was ready to quit his job and rumours of problems and infighting at boardroom level, which are not new at Rugby Park, would hardly have helped the mood of Kilmarnock supporters who fear another campaign of fighting relegation.

Clark was adamant he was staying put for the moment but didn’t quite come out and promise his long-term future to Kilmarnock. His cause wasn’t helped by the club's media officers warning he would take just one question about the only story in town regarding the team.

If there is no story then why not allow the manager to answer any question to clear up any confusion, which in fairness he did as has been the former Newcastle United man’s style since his appointment in February.

“One of my favourite sayings in this game is ‘actions speak louder than words’ and my actions say that I’m here,” said Clarke. “I have fantastic support from our board and I’ve just been having a good chat with them for an hour or so – a meeting which had been planned last week.

“The supporters also gave my family myself great backing at the end of last season. I enjoy being here and it’s onwards and upwards. I haven’t read the story so I don’t know what’s been said, or what I’m meant to have said, but I’m proud to be the manager of Kilmarnock and I can’t give the story any credibility at all.

“You’re talking about stuff I don’t even know in terms of this story. I don’t have any interest in reading it because it doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s not the truth. I’m the manager of Kilmarnock and, apparently [they say] I’m not going to be. But I am. So it’s not about setting parameters, it’s about having standards.”

Managers do tend to claim they haven’t read a story and yet have quite a lot of detailed knowledge about what was in the piece. What seems certain is that strong words were expressed to the dressing room by Clark who has set the players high standards.

The riot act was obviously read by him and it would not be overplaying the situation to say that there were some at Kilmarnock who felt that he might have had enough.

“I wouldn’t never tell you guys what was said in my dressing room and that’s no disrespect to you,” he said. “As a player, coach or manager, that inner sanctum is sacred – I don’t even tell my family what goes on in there.

“On Monday I’m having a meet-the-fans event at the ground, which anyone can come to. I wanted to do that in appreciation of the support I had from them and because I want, as much as possible, to have an open dialogue with them.

“There are obviously things in football that you can’t divulge and that must stay confidential but, whenever I’m asked to turn up at fans’ meeting for a Q&A, it won’t be a problem for me.

“Hopefully, I’ll mostly do that following good results but I know, from my career, that you also have to turn up when things aren’t going so well.

“I did that here last season when I spoke at the AGM and the supporters were concerned about us not staying in the league. I had to convince them we would and ask them for their backing, which I got.”

Clark, whose team are home to Albion Rovers today, is a straightforward bloke. He is also passionate and the fact his Kilmarnock team have not been at the races so far, in fact they have looked worse than last season, has hurt his pride.

“Some players have hit the ground running but others haven’t,” he admitted. “But I’ve experienced it myself. I only had three clubs in my career. I moved across the water from Newcastle to Sunderland and hit the ground running on day one.

“When I moved to Fulham I was their record signing at £4m but the fans at Craven Cottage must have thought, ‘who is this duffer?’ I went on to have six-and-a-half great years there.

“It takes time in a new environment. Some of these boys are away from home for the first time. They will come good eventually. It’s about being patient.

“They understand myself and my staff have high standards - we all have roles and responsibilities.

“We had a great trip to Spain and got our rules and regulations over and what we expect in terms of behaviour. The players and staff agreed, so we know what we are all about and how to achieve it.

“We’ve felt in certain aspects of the games we haven’t been where we want to be. In other aspects we have, so it’s no big deal.”

It’s only not a big deal if performances do improve and Clark stays where he is. This is one to watch.