Steve: My future is at Killie not Rangers
From Back Page agm – and he was pleased by Clarke’s reassurance his mind is solely focused on the job he has started so well in his first two months at Killie.
As Clarke prepares his side to face Rangers tomorrow he said: “My quote (at the agm) is, ‘It’s not my intention to leave Kilmarnock for any other Scottish club’. That’s it.
“I don’t think I need to elaborate on that. It’s quite clear. It probably says a lot about me as much as what it says about settling in here. I came here for a reason.
“I said at the time a lot of different reasons fell into place at the right time. Nothing has changed that.
“I didn’t come here to leave. I came here to do a job. It’s always hard to look too far into the future but it’s definitely not my intention to leave to go to another Scottish club.”
It wasn’t the only story Clarke insisted had nothing in it yesterday.
Reports former Spurs defender Sebastien Bassong could sign after training for two days with Killie were knocked down. And a loan deal for Aston Villa’s Aaron Tshibolo, who played under Clarke at Reading, was also ruled out.
He added: “Bassong came up as a friend of Youssouf Mulumbu’s, did two days training then he went home. I haven’t heard from him since.
“Aaron is another nonstory made up by people who know I like him as a player. It hasn’t really worked out for him. He moved for £5million and is on a hell of a lot of money at Aston Villa so he’s probably just a bit outside our wage bracket.”
Clarke made a phone call to Killie’s Scottish Cupwinning boss Bobby Williamson to pass on his and the club’s good wishes after it was revealed he was diagnosed with cancer.