Kilmarnock supporters plan to step up a campaign of protest against Michael Johnston in an attempt to force a change of ownership at the club.
At the annual general meeting of the Kilmarnock Supporters Association yesterday, fans voted to force Johnston to sell the club, with some refusing to spend any more money until he has left Rugby Park. They also intend to push for an extraordinary general meeting to be called.
The agm attracted around 400 supporters and a statement was read out by the KSA chairman, Sandy Armour, confirming that local businesswoman Marie Macklin had made an offer to buy the club last year which was rejected. It also confirmed that Macklin, chief executive of the property development and investment firm, Klin Group, retains an interest in taking over at Rugby Park.
Klin are currently involved in building a community hub on the site of the old Diageo site in the city, but Macklin intends to discuss plans for Kilmarnock with other leading businesses. Some potential investors will only put funds into the club if it is run in a different way, and Johnston looks in an increasingly beleaguered position. Many fans who are not engaged in the ownership issue have been active against the chairman's sacking of Kenny Shiels as manager last week.
"Some people still want to go to the games, not to support Johnston but to support the team," said Armour. "When they go, they'll make their feelings known, and there will be constant protests, including at Michael Johnston's house and [former chairman] Jamie Moffat's house. Some of us are for 'not a penny more' into the club, and around 50% of people were prepared to go down the route of not putting any money into the club. The other 50% felt that they could do other things, like demonstrations or when they go to the games only paying using 50p pieces. It's to make a point.
"Marie gave me the letter and I read it out. Klin are very passionate about the club and concerned about what's been going on. They confirmed they made a bid last year that was refused. [Yet Johnston has] said there had never been a bid made. Klin have been trying to do things the proper way. They're very busy with the Halo project on the old Diageo site, but they're still very much interested in Kilmarnock. We'll be arranging a meeting with Marie Macklin to see how we move things forward."
During a radio interview yesterday, Shiels said that he hoped the reaction to his sacking would galvanise the support and ultimately be for the long-term good of the club. However, he would not criticise Johnston for sacking him. The club is thought to be considering a shortlist of two candidates to replace Shiels, after his assistant, Jimmy Nicholl, rejected the change to be a candidate and agreed to a job offer from Hibernian.
Johnston is currently considering the merits of Allan Johnston, the Queen of the South manager, and Henning Berg, who was briefly in charge of Blackburn Rovers last season.
Richard Wilson
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