McCulloch sticks to tried-and-tested formula
LEE McCULLOCH is one of life’s pragmatists. The former Rangers captain was never one to turn down a manager’s request for a positional change, which is why he found himself plugging gaps in a variety of positions during his two decades as a senior professional.
Having started life at Motherwell as a callow centre-forward, he found himself moving backwards as his career went forwards. By the time he arrived at Ibrox, by way of a six-year stint at Wigan Athletic, he had morphed into a defensive midfielder and, as the legs grew weary he was marshalling the Rangers back four, as they trudged their way through the lower leagues; that’s before the club’s financial implosion even gets a mention.
The haste with which Lee Clark departed Rugby Park last week – leaving just three days before the league match against in-form Aberdeen – would have had lesser men quaking in their size 9s. But not McCulloch. He has been here before – a year ago, to be exact, when he was asked to stand in following the decision to end Gary Locke’s reign after a 1-0 league defeat by Hamilton Academical.
In his brief spell in charge, McCulloch made a number of tactical changes and subsequently oversaw a William Hill Scottish Cup draw at Ibrox, then led Kilmarnock to a 2-0 league win over Motherwell to kick-start a run which ultimately culminated in top-flight survival under Clark.
But, McCulloch the manager is just as much a realist as he was when a player. Which is why he is refusing to deviate from the plans put in place by his predecessor, deciding that stability and continuity are the way ahead today on the back of a three-match unbeaten run.
McCulloch said: “Everything happened really, really quickly so it has not given us much time to think. Nothing has changed from the schedule that Lee Clark had up. I still see this as his week, nothing has changed, so the continuity of the week will be there. It will be the same game plan that we spoke about at the start of the week.”
Any kind of positive result would be a bonus given Kilmarnock’s woeful recent record against Aberdeen, who have won the last 12 games between the two teams, triumphing 4-0 on each of their last two visits to Rugby Park, and winning the most recent Pittodrie meeting 5-1.
If McCulloch can eke out any kind of result then the smart money would be on him retaining his place in the dugout for a while longer this time around, although he has shelved discussions over his long-term future until next week.