Sacrifice anyone a
THERE appears some uncertainty over whether or not he wants to become Kilmarnock’s manager on a fulltime basis. However, when it comes to the simple business of preparing to stand up in front of a group of players and deliver his message, as he will do this afternoon ahead of the visit of Aberdeen, Lee McCulloch shows no lack of conviction whatsoever.
A football man, a man who regards the dressing room as his domain, he has been through much to get to this point. Whether he ends up in ultimate charge at Rugby Park or not, the 38-year-old is building for a long and fruitful future in coaching, pushing his self-taught mantra on dedication and commitment, using the bitter lessons from a nightmarish final year at Rangers, and learning new ones from the research trips and courses he has been making and taking, quietly, behind the scenes.
McCulloch has already had one spell as caretaker manager at Killie under his belt. He took charge for two games after Gary Locke’s departure in January 2016, drawing a cup game with one former club in Rangers and beating another, Motherwell, in the league.
Back then, he did not feel ready to step up permanently. This time, in the wake of Lee Clark’s defection to Bury, the waters are a little more muddied. He has not ruled himself out, but this club, still marked by power struggles and disaffection within the support, is becoming something of a graveyard for managers, with seven having passed through the doors in seven years.
Perhaps today’s match will make things clearer. McCulloch has kept the training routines the same for this week, at least, but do not underestimate his desire to be his own man. At the right time.
‘It’s about all the things I’ve been working on for the last year-and-ahalf to try to get a base to become a better coach,’ he said. ‘I’ve done a media course. I’ve been down to Man City and different football clubs to see the way they’re doing it, the way they bring their youths up.
‘I was just trying to see their academy structure. I missed the first team, but I have a few pals down there and I learned a lot over a couple of days.
‘I’m just pretty driven to get better and better.
‘Everybody makes the mistake of thinking I’d coach the same way I played. It’s so far from the truth. I wasn’t an “off your seats” player, a fans’ favourite. I didn’t have the ability of half my team-mates.
‘What I did have was dedication, sacrifice. It wasn’t a case of turning up to training at nine, leaving at one and that was my work done. It was 24/7 for me.
‘You need to eat it, sleep it, breathe it for the full day, the full week. Everything’s preparation. I was going out running at night, had a strict diet, didn’t eat after 6pm. What I was bringing to the team wasn’t fancy flicks and turns. It was work-rate, set-plays for and against, aggression and winning my headers.
‘I had a good career out of the sacrifices I made and dedication I had. That’s what I’m trying to say to the players here.
‘It’s not about your Ronaldo flicks or your Messi tricks. It’s about being a dedicated football player on and off the pitch.’
McCulloch faced the media last week and played all questions over the manager’s job with a straight bat. It is a technique he learned well at Rangers, often finding himself centre stage as team captain during that dreadful 2014-15 season in which the club failed to get out of the Championship and was in the throes of civil war behind the scenes.
McCulloch, whose own fans turned against him at times towards the end, has described it as the worst year of his career. He admitted after leaving that he had effectively been gagged by the hierarchy.
It is clear, though, that those latter months inside the Ibrox madhouse were an experience. What, exactly, did he learn from them, though?
‘Hunners,’ he grinned, ‘but I don’t want to answer that because it is Rangers. As a coach now, it was a great learning experience for me, that year with everything which has been well documented.
‘It certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, though. While I was still playing, I had my eye on that other side of it. That is why I went and got a media qualification, to help me cope.
‘I think I’ve got a good understanding of players and where players are in their own head.
‘I’ve played under managers who were, say, a centre-midfield player. Every day after training, they’ll just pull centre mids, because that’s their specialised spot.’
He insists he has an understanding of what it takes away from the game to get the delicate issues of manmanagement and in-house politicking
just right, too.
‘There’s budgets, boardroom meetings, players having problems, gambling addictions, alcoholics, whatever — and you need to be there for all of it,’ he added.
‘I’ve had problems off the pitch before. Nothing like that, but I’ve been so comfortable going to see the majority of the managers I’ve had. I feel as if I’m approachable for the players and anything I can help them with, I will. If I can’t help them directly, then I’ve got good enough contacts.’
What will his teams be notable for, then? How will they play?
‘I read things about coaches who have just started, saying: “This is my philosophy”. I don’t agree with it. Your philosophy’s got to be based around what squad of players you’ve got,’ he said.
‘There’s no point saying: “I like to pass out from the back. My goalie will never kick it out to my striker” when your centre-halves aren’t any good with a ball.’
A no-nonsense approach, then, something that does echo from his playing days.
‘I was an aggressive player. I was a winner. I am a winner. I don’t think anyone can take that away from me,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t a Pedro Mendes or a Steve Davis, but one of the best managers in Scotland, Walter Smith, played me. Why would he play me? I must be doing something.’