Dyer: Kilmarnock way can restore pride
A l e x D y e r i s c o n f i d e n t t h e Kilmarnock blueprint can restore Scotland’s pride.
T h e Ki l l i e a s s i s t a n t mana g e r has followed Steve Clarke to the national set-up and the pair took their first t wo training sessions yeterday along with Steven Reid and temporary goalkeeping coach Billy Thomson, who is deputising for Stevie Woods in the early part of the week.
C l a r k e a n d D y e r d e l i v e r e d instant results for Kilmarno ck, taking them from the bottom of the Scottish top flight in October 2017 to a record points total in May 2018. They led Killie to another record tally in the most recent season and a first European qualification in 18 years, before Clarke took the Scotland job the following day.
And Dyer is sure they can pro - duce improvement for Scotland a h e a d o f t h e i r o p e n i n g ma t c h against Cyprus in Saturday’s Euro 2020 qualifier as S cotland look t o m a k e u p g r o u n d f o l l o w i n g their opening loss in Kazakhstan.
Dyer, who first met Clarke while he was West Ham reser ve -team b oss – and the former Chelsea defender was assistant to Gianfranco Zola – said: “The important thing is to bring some pride back to Scottish football, to do our best, get a happy feeling around the camp.
“That’s the main thing, that people come to work and enjoy what they do. That’s what you do in life, you go off what you know. Once you are out on the pitch, football is football wherever you go.
“We just want to make the players come in and work hard and enjoy what they do, that’s the most important thing. We know we need to probably improve on results a little but that will come when it’s a happy camp. When a camp is happy, when people enjoy what they do, I’m sure that will follow.”
Clarke has pencilled in double sessions all week, although he will
ALEX DYER
“The important thing is to bring some pride back to Scottish football… to get a happy feeling in the camp” continually assess the required workload for the players, whose season finishes have varied.
Dyer said: “They know that he demands ever yone to c ome i n and work hard and I think the lads showed that. There is no messing around, they come here to train. We have t wo impor tant games and we want to do the best we can.
“The training is so important to give them the right information to make sure everyone fights and chases and covers ever y inch of that pitch.
“That’s the main message: you have got a job to do and do it to the best of your ability.”
Dyer struggled to articulate his feelings at being included in the Scotland coaching set-up.
The Londoner spent his career in England with the likes of Blackp o ol, Charlton and Oxford and was interim manager of Welling United shortly before moving to Scotland, after spells as assistant manager at Charlton and Huddersfield. “I’m a proud man,” he said. “I don’t know how to say it in words.i am just a proud man to be sitting in front of you with this badge. It’s an honour to be part of this set-up.”