Dicker eager to play down talk of crisis at Rugby Park

KILMARNoCk captain Gary Dicker last night rubbished claims the Rugby Park dressing room is in full-blown crisis mode.

Leading players reportedly raised concerns about the way the club is being run under new boss Angelo Alessio after he opened his reign with a humiliating Europa League first-round qualifying defeat against Welsh minnows Connah’s Quay Nomads, who overturned a first-leg defeat.

But ahead of Sunday’s Premiership opener at home to Rangers, Dicker insisted the squad is united.

‘It’s quiet with the old Firm with not much to write about, so people probably have a go at us,’ said the 32-year-old Irishman.

‘Listen, I’d be the first to tell you and people would find out if stuff had gone on, but there’s no one at the club, players or staff, coming out and telling stories.

‘There’s nothing in it. We are all on the same page. We have a really good dressing room, everyone knows it and we are all in it together.

‘There’s no hiding place in the dressing room or on the pitch. We are all looking forward to the game this weekend.’

The feelgood factor generated by the club’s remarkable return to Europe under former manager Steve Clarke has been wiped out by their embarrassing exit against Connah’s Quay Nomads.

Dicker insists the players are behind Alessio, a former assistant to Antonio Conte at Chelsea and Juventus, and claims the reaction to their humbling in Europe has been over the top.

And he stressed there are no communication problems between the squad and boss.

‘I think it was unfair,’ said Dicker. ‘It’s always going to be hard for a new manager coming in and he’s not had a lot of time with the boys.

‘We still need to get players in as quite a few left, so there are probably a million things going on.

‘It’s gone crazy, but that can happen in one game. I think he’ll learn from it, like we all have.

‘You’ve got to enjoy the good times, whether it’s players, staff or anyone at the club, but you also need to keep a level head when things go badly.

‘We are out of Europe but there are worse things happening in life than losing a football match. We are devastated but you’ve got to move on and not feel sorry for yourselves.

‘I wasn’t surprised by the reaction. People pay good money to travel around and watch us and they can say what they like.

‘We deserved what we got. You can’t expect people to applaud you off the pitch after what we served up.

‘We got enough pats on the back these last couple of years, so, when it goes the other way, you need to accept it.

‘There’s no problem, really. Football is a language in itself. I’ve played with enough foreign players who didn’t speak a word of English but they’ve done all right.

‘You can get your point across without being fully fluent. The manager’s English is better than people give him credit for. It can be difficult getting it across in press conferences and stuff. But he speaks well on the training pitch and doesn’t have a problem getting his points across.’

Dicker (pictured) now hopes killie can put the disappointment of their Euro exit behind them and turn their attention to performing in the league.

With no distractions in Europe, Dicker says kilmarnock can get off to a flier in the Premiership against Rangers.

Insisting the pressure is all on Steven Gerrard’s side when they travel to Ayrshire on Sunday, he added: ‘We’ve trained hard and we’ve had more time to learn how the manager wants us to play.

‘So it’s a bit of a blessing that he has had that time to work with us and, hopefully, we can get a result on Sunday.

‘A defeat like that can put you under pressure. I remember we lost on penalties to St Mirren last year (in the Betfred Cup) and it was carnage. The fans were going mad.

‘It’s the industry we’re in now. Managers and players don’t get time anywhere any more. People can jump the gun after a couple of games.

‘There is maybe no better game for us. We’ve got to play them at some stage.

‘They’ve invested a lot in their squad and they’ve signed a lot of good players. ‘The pressure will be on them — despite the fact we haven’t had a good start.

‘They’ll be thinking they can be up there challenging for the title again — like they did last year. ‘I think everyone will be looking at them and, if they don’t come away with a win, people will be asking questions.’