Tommy insists the structure at Killie sits just Wright with him
Tommy Wright isn’t the oldest manager in Scotland’s top flight – and he’s adamant that he’s not stuck in the past.
The new Kilmarnock manager believes some people wrongly assumed that he needed complete control at a club before agreeing to take a job.
But he’ll happily deal with James Fowler, who is Director of Football Operations at Rugby Park.
The Northern Irishman thinks they will be a formidable combination.
Wright said: “It’s a big thing for me. I know it has been said previously: ‘Oh, he wouldn’t take a job because he can’t work with a director of football’. But that was never the case.
“I’d spoken to James a couple of times, and I know him.
“I’ve said to him and chairman, Billy Bowie, that at St Johnstone I did all the recruitment on my own. I’d no real support.
“That was good for me because it’s given me a wealth of experience with players and dealing with the good and the bad agents.
“This is something that’s going to help and support me.
“We are clear on how it works, and James has been very supportive.
“They know what they will get from me – honesty.
“I will never duck any situation where I feel to have say something, and I am not frightened to offend anybody.
“You are best being truthful with people, and they were very honest with me.
“James has come across really well, and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“Things happened in my first 48 hours at the club that, if they had happened previously, I would probably have dealt with and taken it that out onto the training pitch.
“So a Head of Football Operations can work, but there certainly has to be that level of trust between the two people and, ultimately, James knows that I will have the final say on players.
“Sorry –Billy will have the final say on players in terms of the money for bringing them in!”
Wright makes it clear that he’s not at Kilmarnock just to firefight and keep them up.
The second-oldest Premiership boss – at 57 he is 43 days younger that Hamilton Accies’ Brian Rice – Wright sees this job as a long-term project, which should be good news for fans of the Ayrshire club.
They’ve seen periods of considerable success, under men like Kenny Shiels and Steve Clarke, interrupted by times of struggle when managers don’t hang around for long.
Wright added: “Stability is important. That was the bedrock for success at St Johnstone, and it was massively important for me.
“I said to Billy that I am coming here to try to replicate the success I had at St Johnstone.
“I want to win a trophy here, get into Europe, and get into that top six on a consistent basis – not just one or two seasons.
“I know the contract is twoand-a-half years, but this is a long-term project. I want to develop young players as I did at St Johnstone.”