I’M NO LOAN ARRANGER
KILLIE NEW BOSS, NEW PLAYER POLICY McCulloch: I plan to recruit for long term like Aberdeen & Saints have
LEE McCULLOCH vowed the days of cramming Kilmarnock’s dressing room with quick-fix loan deals are over as he sets about laying solid foundations for the club to rebuild.
The interim boss ended weeks of uncertainty yesterday by penning a three-year deal then quickly set out his plans after talks with Killie directors.
Having seen his predecessor Lee Clark bring in a raft of loan signings from the English lower leagues as part of a mass clearout this time last year McCulloch now faces the task of replacing them.
But he wants those who come in next to be at Rugby Park for the long haul.
He said: “The challenge I have is we have 10, possibly 12, players under contract to the club. We have 10 loan signings going back so the hardest part of my job will be replacing them.
“I need to make sure the players we bring in know this league and this club.
“I won’t say anything negative about what has happened here in the past but I won’t be going down the route of bringing in lots of players on loan.
“There have been conversations with Billy Bowie and John Kiltie about how I want to build a team and that means we can’t rebuild it every single pre-season which has been the case for too long now.
“I want to bring some continuity to the club so the fans can feel some rapport with the players instead of bringing in people they’ve never heard of and then repeating that cycle every year.
“Obviously this approach is going to take time to come together. We’ve looked at Aberdeen and St Johnstone and how they’ve done it – you don’t usually see too many coming and going at those clubs each summer.
“That’s why this window is so important – it’s probably the biggest challenge of my career. It’s all about bringing in the right players then hitting the ground running because if I don’t I’ll be under pressure from the start.”
McCulloch distanced himself from suggestions former Rangers team-mate Kirk Broadfoot could be among the first he wants at the club, pointing out he’s still under contract at Rotherham.
But there is no doubt he is looking for experience to help a squad packed with talented kids such as Greg Taylor whose stunning goal saw Scotland’s Under-20s beat Brazil at the Toulon Tournament.
McCulloch said: “We have without doubt the best pathway from youth team to first team in the country.
“We’re the youngest team in Britain – last season we finished with a schoolboy on our bench. Innes Cameron couldn’t train with us during the week because he was studying for his exams but would turn up on a Saturday and still managed to get on the pitch.
“When Scotland beat Brazil we had Greg plus Iain Wilson and Adam Frizzell in the team and another in the squad which is more than any other club.
“They are the future for Kilmarnock – they’ve all come through the academy and we have to take pride in that. Hamilton are the only other club doing as much as we are in that department.
“Our first team’s average age last season was 24.4, which made us the 27th youngest team in Europe. Even our loan signings were mostly teenagers.
“But now I’ve got the job we’ll need a couple of experienced players to help these kids along with Kris Boyd, Steven Smith, Rory McKenzie and Jamie MacDonald. There are one or two whose contract ended I still want to speak to.
“I had discussions with Jordan Jones who did really well for me last season.”
LEE McCULLOCH