PLAY-OFF PRESSURE IS NO PROBLEM FOR GREAT SURVIVOR CLARK
EVEN a victory against Partick Thistle today will not prevent the fingernails of every man, woman and child at Kilmarnock being bitten to the quick in the next seven days. Lee Clark’s side have become so entrenched in the fight to avoid the play-offs that, even if everything goes their way, the dying embers of their final match against Dundee United next weekend will still be fraught with anxiety. If that’s a stomachchurning prospect for a fan base that has grown accustomed to top-flight football since 1993, one overwhelming positive is that the man at the helm has balanced on this tightrope before — and survived. Two years ago, while manager of Birmingham City, Clark awoke on the final day knowing his side needed to better Doncaster’s result to stand any chance of surviving in the English Championship. As Birmingham’s game at Bolton headed into injury-time, his team was still 2-1 down. Confirmation of Doncaster’s defeat at Leicester meant the Blues had 60 seconds to find a hero. Step forward Paul Caddis. In scoring the only headed goal of his career, the former Celtic full-back preserved Birmingham’s status and staved off what Clark predicted would be ‘Armageddon’ in League One. While the relief was considerable, the Geordie always felt his side would prevail. Encouragingly from Killie’s perspective, he is convinced that such a level-headed approach will have the same outcome this time. ‘Birmingham was 96 minutes,’ Clark recalled. ‘I knew it would happen, so I was relaxed. I’ve experienced both sides of it. When I arrived at Blackpool, that ship had already gone. ‘You never want that experience again and it puts a fire in your belly. ‘At Birmingham, though, it was an experience in never giving up until the last minute. It was a situation where I felt relaxed before the game. ‘Even when we went 2-0 down with 14 minutes to play at Bolton, I still felt we could get back into the game. We needed help with Leicester playing Doncaster. We got that, but we stuck to our job. ‘If we hadn’t got the result at Bolton, it would have been even more horrendous as Doncaster lost their game. ‘That’s what I’m stressing to my players. It’s no good thinking of other clubs. We have to look after ourselves. ‘After that game, my agent was gobsmacked. He said if I’d run that fast when I played, he’d have had Real Madrid and Barcelona on the phone.’
For all the positivity emanating from Rugby Park, Clark’s side need to save three match-points against Partick, Dundee and Dundee United. It’s a prospect that could well induce a sense of panic. Clark, though, knows that’s the one way to guarantee they will not come out of this unscathed. ‘All I can do is make sure the players have been given the right training, the right information on the opposition and the right game-plan,’ he said. ‘Then we have to try to do our jobs. Make them feel relaxed, make them feel at ease and understand that, if they do what is asked of them, it will give them a good opportunity of winning the game.’ If it all seems a tall order, Clark is totally convinced it can be done. As vital as the next seven days are, his thoughts have already turned to next season. This time next year, he believes, the worries currently filling his in-tray will belong to someone else. ‘Staying up would be a tremendous achievement, but it’s not what I want to leave as my legacy as manager,’ added Clark. ‘I don’t want everyone to think this is the be-alland-end-all — it’s just the start of the process. ‘My early goal was to keep the club in the league. But then we have to build on it. ‘On the day I was announced in the job — and the reason why I accepted it — was the possibility of getting this club into the top six. Then, once we are there, get a bit of luck and push on. ‘Of course, it depends on the cup competitions, who wins the title and how many places are available for Europe. ‘We played very well against St Johnstone recently and beat them 3-0, yet they are challenging for fourth. ‘What Tommy Wright has done there in the past two seasons in nothing short of brilliant. ‘I’m delighted for him as he’s a great friend, but it shows what can be achieved with the right recruitment and right group of players. ‘They are a benchmark and so are Ross County, who won the League Cup. ‘Those type of clubs and Motherwell, where Mark McGhee is doing a terrific job.’