We’re desperate for boss to stay
KILLIE THE VERDICT IS UNANIMOUS Jones: Every player in dressing room wants ‘fantastic’ Clarke at Rugby Park
WINGER Jordan Jones has revealed all the Kilmarnock players are desperate for manager Steve Clarke to stay put at Rugby Park.
The incredible upturn in fortunes of Killie under Clarke this season has seen the experienced Scot linked with a move to Rangers.
Ex-Ibrox star Alex Rae suggested the 54-year-old would be the perfect fit for the Glasgow giants in the summer.
When former West Brom and Reading boss Clarke was appointed by Kilmarnock in October last year they were bottom of the Premiership with just three points from eight matches. They are now fifth with high-profile victories over Celtic and Rangers to their name.
On Saturday Killie defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox leading to suggestions Graeme Murty was not the man for the job long term and should be replaced by the former Chelsea star.
Asked at a Northern Ireland press conference about his manager’s link to Rangers, Jones was clear he wanted Clarke to stay at Killie and build on the team’s incredible progress.
He said: “If you ask any player at Kilmarnock they would all be desperate for him to stay. He has been fantastic for all the lads and fantastic for the club as a whole.
“He has also made a positive impact on the whole town so everyone is desperate for him to stay with Kilmarnock.”
Jones, set to win his second cap on Saturday in a Belfast friendly against South Korea, feels Clarke is not only a master tactician but a brilliant motivator.
He said: “We are really structured. Everyone knows their job and if you look at the substitutions the manager makes, he reads the game perfectly.
“They always seem to work which shows you how good a manager he is. If you go into any dressing room not every player is going to be happy.
“The players who aren’t playing aren’t going to be happy.
“The way it is at our club at the moment though is even the lads who aren’t playing are training as hard as possible to get the guys who are in the team out of the team.
“Everyone wants to be involved. That makes a real difference and that is down to the manager.
“We beat Rangers for instance on Saturday and it is testament to what he has done and what he has brought to the squad. It is a really positive time to be at Kilmarnock right now.”
Jones, who has been in exceptional form lately, said: “The start of the season was a bit slow for Kilmarnock but the new gaffer came in and he has been fantastic.”
The former Middlesbrough ace was caught up in a diving storm recently when Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes accused him of going down too easily during a Scottish Cup tie. Jones outlined how Clarke turned what could have been a negative into a positive.
He said: “McInnes was trying to get me out of the replay. I spoke to my gaffer about it and he told me to take it as a compliment and that’s what I did.”
On Saturday Jones is savouring the prospect of his first appearance in front of the Windsor Park crowd and feels Northern Ireland can reach the Euro 2020 finals.
He said: “I don’t see why we can’t qualify. The belief is there.”
He reads the game perfectly and his changes always work well JORDAN JONES