Hibernian v Kilmarnock: Change may lead to sackings says Rugby Park manager

Wednesday 27 February 2013

THE big picture in Scottish football is framed by league reconstruction.

Kenny Shiels will have Kris Boyd in his squad

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Chris Tait

It has been hung up for clubs to have a look at for some time now, although Kenny Shiels feels it is not sitting quite level. The Kilmarnock manager has come to look askance at the whole argument given his concerns that it will leave coaches off balance, believing the impact of failure to get into the top eight following the proposed three-way split of two 12-team leagues would be enough for clubs to crack and lash out at those in charge of the team.

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Shiels will feel he has just cause to resist the wishes of the governing bodies, then, although admittedly they have hardly been cosying up to one another this season. There has been widespread disdain for proposals to redraw Scottish football into a 12-12-18 system and that has perhaps been strengthened during a campaign in which clubs in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League have closed ranks; the gap between sixth and second places still just three points. Kilmarnock are only a point further back, with the Rugby Park side intent on stepping into the top six when they face Hibernian tonight. The match at Easter Road will come to obscure the view of Kilmarnock – with most fans straining for a look at Kris Boyd, the striker expected to play his first match since returning to the club last week – and Shiels is acutely aware of how the perception of his side's season will also be shaped by their matches with Hibs, with the two teams meeting again in the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup at the weekend. Even so, that Kilmarnock are still in touch with Hibs in the league is indicative of how readily form has changed hands in the top flight and Shiels was willing to contend that greater splits would emerge should league reconstruction plans be forced through. "I genuinely think it is a good product at the moment with the 12 the way it is," said the Kilmarnock manager. "You are going to see a lot of pressure put on to teams and managers. Managers will be fired more readily next season than this season if it is restructured; if you don't make the top eight then chairmen will be thinking 'let's get the axe out and we'll change it for the run-in. We can't have him in for these next crucial games after the split'. "I think the league has been better because managers haven't been sacked. We've had continuity there. The first manager to be sacked is Barry Smith [from Dundee] and you can see that someone like Derek Adams has been able to build things up at Ross County and spend money, go to Marbella . . ." Boyd is one player who is eager to back into the sun after acknowledging that his career has begun to cloud over since leaving Rangers in 2010. The Scotland striker rejoined the Kilmarnock squad for training on Monday and so is likely to feature only from the bench tonight, which should afford him a decent view of the challenge he will face in trying to squeeze into the team alongside Paul Heffernan. The Irish striker has filled the role once occupied by Boyd by scoring 11 times this term, each one accounting for his value to his manager. "Paul Heffernan has a great instinct of where to be when it comes to scoring goals," added Shiels. "But he brings more than that. He has game intelligence and has a lot of things going for him." While Shiels ponders the introduction of Boyd, his Hibs counterpart, Pat Fenlon, says he will not risk his club's future by bidding to sign their own former favourite, Kevin Thomson. The midfielder, once a team-mate of Boyd's at Rangers, is training with the Easter Road side after being freed by Middlesbrough last month but Fenlon is adamant he will not go cap in hand to the chairman Rod Petrie for the extra money it would take to make Thomson an offer. "It's good to see players coming back to the SPL because you're talking about guys who still have a lot to offer. It's not as if they're coming back at the end of their career. Kevin is just training with us. We can't do anything. We don't have any money to do anything, so it's not as if I'm pushing for anything. I spoke to Kevin, he was looking for training facilities, that's all there is at the moment. I don't think that's going to change, although, in football, you never know. "When I took the job I knew where we were. We lost money last year and it's difficult to get the balance right. We've seen what has happened with other clubs who don't go down that road. So we've got to make sure that we're competitive, we put together a team that we think can get the club back where it should be but also look after the future. That's really important."

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Hibernian v Kilmarnock: Change may lead to sackings says Rugby Park manager

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