Clarke given the pip after seed saga puts squeeze on Killie

KILMARNOCK manager Steve Clarke admits he has been left baffled by the format of the Betfred Cup.

After breezing through the group stage, the Rugby Park side have been rewarded with a tie against Rangers today, something that sits uneasily with Clarke, who had expected his team to be seeded for the last 16.

The Ayrshire club had already been eliminated from last season’s competition by the time Clarke was appointed in October and he concedes to being confused by the apparent vagaries of a tournament that began with Killie winning three out of four group matches.

‘It seems a little bit random,’ he said. ‘We were seeded in the first round, won the group against a fellow Premiership team — all we can do is win the group — and then we’re not seeded in the next round, which means we get a more difficult draw.

‘Someone who finishes top of the group with no Premiership team in their section can be seeded, but we can’t. It’s a bit strange.

‘There are lots of little things that just seemed to be pieced together. You play 90 minutes in the group stage and it goes to penalties.

‘You play 120 minutes in the knock-out stage and it goes to penalties.

‘They do what they want to boost the game or sell it, but it just seems a little bit random to me. They didn’t explain it and I didn’t ask — there’s no point, is there?’

The League Cup was reformatted for the 2016-17 season, with broadcasters BT Sport coming on board to televise group fixtures timed to provide a competitive substitute for pre-season friendlies.

Although Clarke has not sought an explanation from the SPFL on what he perceives as the tournament’s inconsistencies, he is clear on how he would prefer the competition to develop in future. He added: ‘I think a straight knockout would be fine. That would allow you to structure your own pre-season, get the games you want to play against the standard of opposition you want to play at the right time. ‘It would mean you’re more prepared for the season, but I’m not here to change Scottish football. ‘If they want to do the group stages this way, then we just do what we did — try to qualify for the knockout rounds.’ Today sees Clarke (left) come up against Steven Gerrard, a player he coached during his stint operating as assistant manager to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool.

‘I found Steven a good person and a good character in the dressing room. He was captain of Liverpool, so you could see he was a leader,’ declared the Killie boss.

‘At that time, you have no idea whether he wanted to go into coaching — but he has started all right, hasn’t he?

‘Anybody who wants to go into coaching or managing needs to have high standards. If you don’t have those you will soon get found out and, if you get found out, you won’t get many jobs.’

Having operated at the highest level of the game for club and country before rounding off his career with a lucrative stint at LA Galaxy, Gerrard did not move into management out of financial necessity.

And that, believes Clarke, might hold the key to his success as he embarks on his first job at Ibrox.

‘The financial aspect allows this generation of managers, who have just stopped their playing career, to go into it with a little less pressure,’ said the Killie boss.

‘They don’t need to kowtow down to the board. They can be very forthright in what they want because they have that financial security behind them.

‘That is quite an important factor because you don’t have to take any nonsense from the people up above you. If you don’t like it, then you can walk away.’