Managers come and go but it’s Johnston who stays

LEE McCULLOCH is back at Ibrox with the chance to show he can be the next permanent manager of Kilmarnock. But let’s be honest here. The man who orders a name plaque for the manager’s office at Rugby Park is either an incurable optimist. Or a fool. Jim Jefferies was the last ‘keeper’. Holding the job for eight years, Jefferies was sacked in January 2010. Jimmy Calderwood came in till the end of the 2010 season and kept the club in the Premiership. A short-lived arrangement, the two swiftly parted ways. Mixu Paatelainen did better. The Finn had Killie playing their best football in years and his reward came when the Finnish national team came calling. Assistant Kenny Shiels took over and, for all his idiosyncrasies, supporters loved him. He led Kilmarnock to their firstever League Cup in 2012 before being sacked a year later by ‘mutual agreement’. Next up was Allan Johnston. He quit in the middle of a press conference after striker Robbie Muirhead was sold to Dundee United against his will. Last, but not least, was Gary Locke. The poor man never stood a chance. Six years since Jefferies was axed, then, Kilmarnock are now seeking their sixth managerial appointment. Their next lamb to the slaughter. Remarkably, the genius who oversaw much of this managerial carnage sails serenely on at Rugby Park. Kilmarnock managers come and Kilmarnock managers go. But Michael Johnston (above) continues to hang around like the proverbial. Last year, he stood down as chairman but now serves as company secretary. He strolled out of the recent reconstruction talks at Hampden without a care in the world, the perks of office undented by years of mediocrity and bad decisions. Say this much for the man. You couldn’t mark his neck with a blowtorch.