McCulloch unfazed by Killie risks
CATALOGUING a troubled period for Kilmarnock is no longer a job for a historian. A statistician could do it better. The numbers are staggering. The next permanent manager will be the seventh in seven years.
He will replace Lee Clark, a coach who signed 26 players in a 12-month period.
A fortnight ago, the Englishman paraded seven new signings — six of them borrowed on loan from other clubs.
On Wednesday he was gone, leaving the club lying sixth in the Scottish Premiership for Bury — a side fourth bottom of England’s League One.
Short of working for Kim Jong-Un, it’s difficult to conceive of an environment with less job security than Kilmarnock. And Lee McCulloch knows it. The assistant manager has been placed in interim charge for Sunday’s league match against Aberdeen. Beyond that, directors want the 38-year-old to become their next permanent manager.
In managerial terms, McCulloch may be raw, but he’s not daft.
The betting man could read between the lines of what he said yesterday and conclude he’ll take it. They might be right.
Quick to rule himself out of the running when the job was available 12 months ago, he didn’t do that yesterday.
Taking a first job in management at Kilmarnock is a gamble akin to a newly qualified pilot leaping off the Grand Canyon with nothing more than a pair of canvas wings for support.
Without the correct tools, he hasn’t a prayer. And the evidence of a chaotic spell of chopping and changing would suggest the new man is up against it.
‘The club would benefit from a bit of stability and continuity,’ said McCulloch.
‘The other side of it is that they would benefit from that in the dressing room, as well, because of the amount of changes there have been in the past two windows.
‘I’m not being negative at all. I just feel that some continuity could be beneficial.
‘I haven’t thought about what I would do if I ended up as the Kilmarnock manager.
‘Everything happened so quickly (with Clark), so it’s about just trying to get prepared.
‘If I were in the frame for the job, I would have to be just as comfortable with the decision as the club.’
Assistant manager for 18 months, McCulloch is no stranger to crisis management.
Hauled into the interim management team at Rangers when Ally McCoist left the club, he was a reluctant conscript.
Eighteen months at Kilmarnock have been less eventful, but not much.
The one area of Rugby Park immune to change is the area people want to change most. The boardroom.
The Supporters Association recently submitted a 3,000-signature petition calling for the removal of Michael Johnston, the deeply divisive club secretary.
Accused of scaring away investors, sponsors and supporters, Ayr-based solicitor Johnston doggedly resists all efforts to remove him.
Former director David Moran had a call for an extraordinary general meeting to force a vote of no confidence ruled invalid.
Chris McMail — a supporter and local businessman — offered £800,000 worth of investment on the proviso Johnston stepped down.
Fellow directors wanted new cash and ideas enough to make an unsuccessful offer of £1.9million for his shares.
The minute Killie sold striker Souleymane Coulibaly for £800,000 in the January window, the momentum halted.
With cash in the bank, directors Billy Bowie and John Kiltie have no real need to go to war with a fellow director anymore.
Disgruntled fans, meanwhile, have postponed a planned protest during Sunday’s clash with Aberdeen.
Insisting they want McCulloch to get off to a flyer, KFC Supporters Association said in a statement: ‘In order to avoid any off-field distractions for new interim manager Lee McCulloch’s first game in charge on Sunday, it has been decided to postpone the planned Turn Your Back protest in the 18th minute.
‘The committee will consider when it would now be appropriate to hold such a protest.’
Probably a wise move, but with all the unrest behind the scenes, Killie certainly wouldn’t seem to be a particularly stable or supportive environment for a young manager like McCulloch to earn his wings.
‘I have only been on this side of the fence for a year-and-a-half now,’ he admitted.
‘I have been the captain of a big club going through a bit of turmoil and had to help with things off the pitch with players and so on.
‘But, outwith that, I helped the manager with different things and I learned from that experience.
‘I’m a young coach looking at the likes of Derek McInnes, Alan Archibald and Paul Hartley — I want to learn from these guys.
‘That’s how I was as a player and it’s the way I will always be.’
The problem for a new manager is clear. He may think he is ready. But until he actually dips a toe in the water, he can never be sure.
With Kilmarnock just four points above the relegation play-off spot, there is risk on both sides.
‘I’m not going to say I’m experienced,’ added McCulloch. ‘There are managers out there that have loads.
‘Something Mark McGhee said always sticks in my head from the last time I was in charge.
‘I took the team to Motherwell and was speaking to Mark before the game and I was nervous. He said to me: “Nothing changes. I’ve got over a thousand games under my belt and I’m still learning”. ‘Every manager is still learning. ‘I’ve only been coaching full-time for a year-and-a-half, but I’ve got the required experience it takes to be a manager in the future.
‘Be that the near future — or now. Whatever.’
Clark is in no doubt. Hours after MailOnline exclusively revealed his departure, the former manager was urging the club to give the job to his No2. Whether he wants it is now the question.
‘It’s great that Lee thinks I’m the best man for the job,’ added McCulloch. ‘I learned so much from him. He’s a great character — a man’s man — but he also knew the game.
‘He had a different style from the previous ones I played under, but one that I learned loads from, so I thank him for his comments.
‘This week is a sort of Lee Clark week in the sense that nothing huge will change. We are unbeaten in four and we want to keep it up.’
The club would benefit from some stability and continuity