You know the league is going to be unforgiving when even the promoted team are spending big
SUSTAINABILITY. The credo that underpins Lee McCulloch’s transfer policy ahead of what he expects to be an ‘unforgiving’ Premiership season for Kilmarnock. Before accepting the manager’s job last month, McCulloch made it clear to the Rugby Park board that it was not only his own temporary status that had to change.
Several successive transfer windows, not least those overseen by his predecessor Lee Clark, had been defined by a flurry of activity that saw a procession of young loan players and random free agents check in on short-term deals.
Last summer, no fewer than 11 new arrivals were paraded in one sitting. Of those, fan favourite Jordan Jones remains on the books for the coming season.
McCulloch wants to break the cycle but, paradoxically, that requires another fresh batch of players. He has sought to add experience and know-how to his squad this summer, with his former Rangers team-mates Kirk Broadfoot and Chris Burke providing defensive muscle and wing craft respectively and Stephen O’Donnell, formerly of Partick Thistle, being brought back to Scotland from Luton Town to play right-back.
A look around at the business being done elsewhere tells McCulloch that improvement is essential. Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers and Hearts have all invested in their squads, while newly-promoted Hibernian and the ever-consistent St Johnstone will also be in the mix for a top-half finish.
Under McCulloch, Killie stabilised and finished eighth last term. It won’t be easy to do better.
‘Everybody is strong,’ agreed McCulloch. ‘Look at Hibs. They are the newly-promoted team and they’ve signed Steven Whittaker. They are allegedly speaking to Anthony Stokes. Kris Commons, too.
‘Those three salaries together, it’s a lot of money. They’re not the only ones spending, so the league is going to be unforgiving this year.’
McCulloch took over on an interim basis in February when Clark quit for Bury to, as a club statement said, ‘be closer to his family’. The quick and healthy profit turned on Souleymane Coulibaly, picked up on a free then sold to Egyptian side Al Ahly for £750,000 after six months, may have justified the Tynesider’s freewheeling approach to management but McCulloch seeks a more durable path for Killie.
The decision of unpopular chairman Michael Johnston to step aside has further calmed the waters around the club and McCulloch now wants to give the supporters a team they can trust and identify with.
‘The vast majority of our signings all know the league or the club,’ he added. ‘Alex (Samizadeh, an intriguing young acquisition from Bolton) and Alan Power are the only two who don’t have that knowledge at the moment, but they’re surrounded by boys who know what it’s about. In times before, we haven’t had that continuity. It might have been 12 loanees who the fans can’t relate to. The players couldn’t relate to the league or the club either. We are trying to change that.’
O’Donnell looks a particularly shrewd pick-up. A former Scotland Under-21 internationalist, the full-back has been secured on a three-year contract and has bought into McCulloch’s building project.
‘He is an athlete and very good with the ball,’ said McCulloch. ‘A lovely guy, great talker and a presence. He’ll be a tremendous
player for the future.’
A Youth Cup winner at Celtic, O’Donnell rose to prominence at Thistle under the guidance of Jackie McNamara and was part of the club’s promotion-winning team in 2013.
He was first primed for a move to England when, of all managers, Clark made a six-figure offer to take him to Blackpool in January 2015. The defender declined the offer, instead moving to Luton six months later.
‘League Two is very competitive,’ said O’Donnell of the stage he graced for two seasons.
‘Time will tell if I’m a better player than when I left Thistle but I’m as hungry as ever. Last season I didn’t play every week but I still got 35-40 starts. I played in front of decent crowds. At Thistle it was maybe 3,000, so to go up to full houses was good.
‘We didn’t get up automatically at Luton but it was great to make the play-offs. I learned a lot.’
O’Donnell (right) could have remained down south but hankered after a return to his roots in Wishaw.
‘Come the end of the season, I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to be,’ he conceded.
‘I could have had another crack at England but the vibes are different down there. I’d gone to Luton under John Still and was maybe promised the world — it wasn’t what I thought it would be.
‘I found it difficult off the pitch, too. I tried it but I’m relatively simple — I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and they don’t move with you. My fiancée was working here in Glasgow, so that was difficult.
‘I got married in the summer and so wanted to come home and get settled.’
McCulloch offered both security and a return to a competition that is showing signs of being on the up.
‘The SPL was missing a couple of its big hitters when I last played for Thistle,’ added O’Donnell.
‘I’m excited. There will be a battle for every position. It’s a far more competitive league and that’s one of the attractions.
‘I’m sure there will be more of a challenge for Celtic, and Aberdeen are doing brilliantly again.
‘Killie had good players on loan last season but you need a good blend of experience and youth on permanent contracts.
‘Loans can be great because you can get one or two of real quality that you might not otherwise afford. But when it starts to be a turnover of players, you lose the identity of the club and the dressing room.
‘I think the gaffer is doing it the right way. A good settled squad and then if we add a couple more, who knows? ‘This is a massive club. We are sitting here in an 18,000-seater stadium. Hopefully we can start to fill it up again and not just rely on the Rangers and Celtic games.’ So, how far can this new Killie go? An early Betfred Cup defeat to local rivals Ayr United did not help the mood but McCulloch feels his players have been suitably jolted. ‘I’m positive by nature and I think our performance against Clyde was a good reaction to that defeat,’ said the former Rangers captain. ‘It’s never nice to lose to your rivals but in the long run it might prove a good thing for this team.’
The vast majority of our new signings know the club and can relate to this division