Staying at Killie best for Kiltie, says Locke

IN A career that has only ever one bad tackle away from being derailed, playing the long game is not as easy as it sounds. For those aspiring young players fortunate enough to have rich suitors from south of the border whispering in their ears, the natural inclination is always to take the money and run. And who can honestly blame them?

However, the difficulty with flying the nest prematurely is that, from a footballing point of view, a nosedive back to earth invariably follows.

Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke fully appreciates the dilemma facing the likes of Greg Kiltie — the teenager currently procrastinating over the offer of an extension to his contract which oddly ends in January.

But whatever tempting numbers may be involved in potential deals elsewhere, the one ringing alarm bells in Locke’s head is the fact that, at 18, the winger has not yet played 30 senior games.

No matter how tempting other offers may be, Locke believes leaving Rugby Park would be nothing short of disastrous for the player in a football sense.

‘Unfortunately, the way football is, there isn’t really a lot of loyalty at times,’ said Locke.

‘We’re just hoping the players enjoy it, they like the training and feel they’re going to improve.

‘If they do that, hopefully, they can see their future is here at least for the next couple of years.

‘I’ve said to them that the two perfect examples, for me, are (James) McCarthy and (James) McArthur, who played at Hamilton, could easily have left a lot earlier but got over a hundred games under their belts, went down south and both established themselves as top players.

‘Too many times young boys go down there too early, chase the dream too early and end up coming back. So it is important that if they want to leave here they leave at the right time.’

Kiltie (right) is not the only young player Locke is concerned about losing in the foreseeable future. Given that he is only weeks away from being a free agent, however, his case is by far the most pressing.

‘I’ve not seen Greg for two weeks and he’s not back until today,’ added Locke. ‘So the preparation for him for this game (at Celtic Park) has not been ideal.

‘His contract is up and we’ve been speaking to Greg and his agent for a long time.

‘Obviously, it’s a big decision for the lad to make and he’s taking a bit of time over it but I wish he would hurry up.’

Locke makes a compelling case for his young charges sticking around until they have crashed through the 100-game barrier.

Although administration forced his hand at Hearts, his desire to give youth a chance has been evidenced by the involvement of Craig Slater, Lee Ashcroft, Kiltie and the like under his watch.

‘Anybody that looks at my track record will see I give young boys a chance,’ he said.

‘Circumstances were different at Hearts, but all the young lads played. We’re one of the youngest teams in the league, as well. ‘I’m well aware you need to get results but, at the same time, I’ve read a lot of what’s been said over the past couple of weeks — a lot of it right — but at Kilmarnock we’ve got a track record of giving youngsters a chance and that will never change.’ Asked if he felt any of those fledglings prepared to complete their apprenticeship at Rugby Park were capable of emulating the feats of the aforementioned ex-Hamilton duo, Locke replied: ‘Well, you hope they do.

‘There’d be nothing better than for me as a manager than looking at the Premier League in two or three years’ time and seeing some of the young lads we’ve got here playing in it. I’d take great pride in that.

‘It’s great when I see the young Hearts lads I worked with doing ever so well at this minute. I take pride in that as do the rest of the backroom team.

‘We work tirelessly with the young lads here and, hopefully, they’ll go on to have really, really good careers but, for me, the most important thing for them is playing first-team football. If they go down to England they might not do that.’

Killie’s visit to Celtic Park tomorrow is an experience few English clubs can match. Currently three points off the top six, yet four points ahead of the play-off position, no one at Rugby Park can afford to view the game as some kind of bonus match.

‘Every game matters,’ said Locke. ‘The club’s record at Parkhead isn’t one to be proud of, but a lot of clubs will be in that position. The pressure is all on Celtic because everyone expects them to win.’

It was the same when Ronny Deila’s side came to town in mid-August. It is fair to say the result that night — a pulsating 2-2 draw — may just merit a mention in the next 24 hours.

‘It gives them belief,’ said Locke. ‘We’re more than capable of matching Celtic and giving them a game.

‘We’ll go there and have a go. It’ll be difficult, but we’ll go there full of confidence.’