KILTIE PLEASURE
Killie ace happy to ease strain on boss
EVEN though he has been told there is no way he can be offered any certainty over a new c ontract f or himself, Greg Kiltie is happy to have been able to ease the sense of precariousness surrounding manager Alex Dyer’s position at Kilmarnock.
Kiltie is one of a number of players in the last six months of their deals at Rugby Park — but Dyer has warned him that the financial issues created by Covid-19 mean individual futures will not be up for discussion until they have a better idea of where they are going to finish in the table.
It just adds to the unsettling nature of t he campaign f or the 23-year-old. But he has been doing a fine job of putting the issue to one side of late and giving Killie a welcome spot of breathing space away f rom the added claustrophobia of the relegation zone.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Dyer was talking about the possibility of losing his job in the wake of five defeats on the spin. He rang the changes for the trip to Motherwell at the end of last month, though, and Kiltie repaid him for the recall to the starting line-up with the opening goal in a 2-0 win.
Playing just behind main striker Danny Whitehall, another two efforts against Hamilton in his 100th l eague match helped establish a six-point gap between Killie and second-bottom Accies.
Seven points from three games has certainly taken a lot of the pressure off Dyer’s shoulders — and Kiltie hopes his boss will now be permitted to get on with the job of chasing a top- six finish without questions over his job.
‘The gaffer knows the situation in football,’ said Kiltie, when asked about the doubts that surrounded Dyer just before the New Year.
‘If you start losing games, it gets to that point, so the players are all delighted that things have picked up, and hopefully that is not a question any more.
‘I think you can tell from the gaffer’s interviews what kind of person he is, and how he keeps driving us every day. He stays as positive as he can.
‘We went through a stage where we were really unlucky or nothing went for us. When it goes like that you just need to wait on it turning. Just play through it and be as positive as you can be.
‘I t hink you saw t hat in the Motherwell game — the positivity coming from all the players.’
And Kiltie (right) insists he will not allow that positivity to fade, despite the fact that a new deal to extend his stay at Rugby Park will not be forthcoming until much l ater i n the campaign — if at all.
‘That’s the way of it j ust now, i sn’t i t? Clubs are not what they used to be,’ he insisted.
‘ It’s an uncertain time f or everybody, not j ust football clubs. Every business will be exactly the same. You just need to deal with it, keep focusing on playing, then hopefully that time comes when you get a contract or whatever.’ Kiltie insists the air of unease around professional football right now does not extend to going out and performing on the pitch. In England, Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has expressed doubts over the j ustification f or carrying on with the game during a pandemic, and some of the lower leagues i n Scotland are talking about taking a break as Covid infection rates rocket. Kiltie, however, would be content to see things carry on just as they are. ‘It’s ten times better being at training,’ he stated. ‘My partner stays in the house all day, every day and, trust me, I’d much rather be in the position I’m in, getting out and being able to live a bit of a normal life for three or four hours before you go back to being stuck indoors.
‘Football is definitely a relief away from it all and I wouldn’t do anything to change it. I’m just happy we can continue to play.
‘It’s not normal. There’s a lot of factors such as the fans not being allowed in, but it’s as close to normal as we can get at the moment.’
Kiltie, now with 14 starts to his name this term, is relishing an extended period of action in Killie colours following two bad injuries during his time at the club and a couple of loan spells at Morton and Dunfermline.
‘It’s been a grind, so I’m thankful for right now,’ he said. ‘There is nothing worse than not playing. I’ve said it for the past two years now that I need to be playing regularly — that’s why I chose to go on loan.
‘If I feel like I’m not going to play, I’ll go to the level where I think I’m going to play. If a coach wants me, I’ll go there.
‘That was kind of my mindset, especially after I was injured. When it’s taken away from you and you don’t have that option, it’s a total change.’
Kiltie was the key creative force in Kilmarnock’s weekend win, punishing an Accies defence weakened with Aaron Martin being forced to pull out just hours before kick- off when the trackand-trace app informed him he would have to self-isolate.
Kiltie, having passed up a couple of earlier chances, opened the scoring in 37 minutes by diverting home a Youssouf Mulumbu effort.
He wrapped things up just after the hour mark when he took a pass from Brandon Haunstrup in plenty of space just outside the Accies area and moved inside to curl a wonderful effort past goalkeeper Kyle Gourlay.
Accies have been dogged by Covid-related absences this term. Utility man Hakeem Odoffin, who saw a header from a Scott McMann corner hit the bar with the scoreline goalless, admitted losing Martin at such short notice messed up the game plan.
‘It’s difficult with the way things are, having to make changes to the team on the day,’ he said. ‘It’s always good to have experience.
‘Aaron is a great guy and voice to have beside you on the pitch, but these things happen with the times we are living in and you have to adjust. We weren’t quite able to do that.
‘We had a couple of chances at 0-0 and I hit the bar. If that goes in, it’s a different game.
KILMARNOCK (4-2-3-1): Rogers 6; McGowan 6, Broadfoot 6, Findlay 8, Haunstrup 7; Mulumbu 6 (Dabo 79), Power 6 (Tshibola 87); Burke 6 (Pinnock 79), Kiltie 8, McKenzie 7; Whitehall 7 (Kabamba 79).
Subs not used: Broun, Dikamona, Waters, Taylor, Brindley. Booked: None.
HAMILTON (3-5-2): Gourlay 6; Hamilton 5, Stanger 6, Stirling 6; Hodson 6, Odoffin 6, Callachan 7, Trafford 6, McMann 6; Moyo 5 (C Smith 46), Winter 6.
Subs not used: Fulton, Scully, Munro, Mimnaugh, Hughes, Owolabi, Johnson, Slaven. Booked: Hamilton.
Man of the match: Greg Kiltie. Referee: Grant Irvine.