Hay: Shiels deal is correct one for Kilmarnock

Chief football writer

Friday 25 May 2012

KENNY Shiels became manager of Kilmarnock only 11 months ago, but he already seems so inextricably linked to the place it's difficult to imagine it without him.

Custom byline text:

Michael Grant

Quirky, unpredictable, outspoken, capable of cutting sarcasm and warm generosity, Shiels would have been a major figure in Scottish football even without the embellishment of winning the Scottish Communities League Cup in his debut campaign.

Happily for Kilmarnock, they don't need to contemplate life without him for a while. By agreeing a two-year contract extension, Shiels committed himself to the club and pleased those players, Garry Hay included, who have been inspired and lifted by his management. Hay signed a one-year deal himself this month and he had no wish to see anyone other than Shiels in the manager's office."To break the chain would have been unhelpful," said Hay. "Would a new manager have the same ideas on the game? The same idea towards bringing through the younger kids? "Changing the manager puts everything into the air, so this gives us continuity and, if the manager does better again, we can do better and keep improving."The manager is a character. If he's asked a question, he'll answer it and damn the consequences. He's his own man, will say what he feels and is straightforward with the players, which is all you can ask for."He talks about psychology. We spoke about the League Cup final when he publicly said Celtic deserved to win the treble. He was being honest with that because they'd been having a great season but he came in and spoke to us to say that, although he'd said that to the media, it wasn't what he believed. He said we were there to win the cup, and all the stuff about 'believe to achieve'. It was our day."The manager wants to build the community and family spirit. We have it within the players and management and we want to spread it out. It's about developing your own players. Look at the Steven Naismiths and Kris Boyds, they came through and you sell them on. The fans identify with local players coming through."

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Hay: Shiels deal is correct one for Kilmarnock

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED