Gentleman Alex is the guy to get Killie back into the top six
In football management, sometimes less is more.
Kilmarnock’s appointment of Alex Dyer on an interim basis following the sacking of Angelo Alessio was not the most-radical move of all time.
However, for Tommy Wright it was absolutely the right decision.
Dyer was given the job on a permanent basis during lockdown, and Wright expects that to pay dividends during the 2020-21 campaign.
“I know Alex pretty well. He is an absolute gentleman and I was really pleased he got the job,” he said.
“He is a guy with huge experience, having worked at a good level and under Steve Clarke for a long time.
“So he will have picked up a lot of things – but ultimately he is his own man.
“In terms of style of play I don’t see much changing at Kilmarnock from his time in charge last season.
“Listen, it did work well.
“When Alessio came in after Steve, he totally changed the style of play and, by all accounts, it wasn’t a happy camp.
“There was stuff getting out in the press, and players weren’t happy about how they were being asked to play.
“A lot of times when people get jobs, they feel, ‘I have got to do something different. I have to be leftfield here to impress people’.
“But I believe sometimes the best thing to do is also the simplest.
“Go for continuity and just tweak things as you go along.”
To the extent, that is, that going for continuity is possible.
“Like most of the managers in the Premiership this season, Alex has a bit of a rebuilding job in front of him,” added Wright.
“He has lost a lot of players, and recruitment will be really important for him between now and when the window shuts.
“I would imagine he probably thinks his squad is a bit light at the moment, both in terms of numbers and quality.
“He has also already been doing a bit of recruiting.
“I don’t know much about the lad Mitch Pinnock he signed from Wimbledon.
“But I have always liked Aaron McGowan as a full-back. He is strong, and very good going forward.
“Alex has loads of contacts from his time working down in England.
“So I’ve no doubt he will be working hard to get Kilmarnock the right type of player to force them into the top six again.”