Clarke turns his last chance into a total triumph
THERE is no telling where Steve Clarke might take Kilmarnock. Architect of a renaissance that seems truly limitless, his impact has been so profound that fans of the Ayrshire club have already started digging out their passports.
When success has been so unrelenting, Europe would seem the natural progression. On current form, only a fool would wager against it. If not this season, then certainly next.
Even if their adventure does take them on to the continent, though, Clarke will always be mindful of a different kind of checkpoint. A personal crossroad, if you will.
Upon taking the Killie job back in October, Clarke’s father jokingly asked him: ‘Are you crazy?’. It was said in jest, but you could understand where he was coming from.
Tearing through nine of them in seven years, Killie had a reputation for treating managers in much the same fashion as Donald Trump would treat a diligent FBI official.
Clarke knew his position was no less sensitive. Although his sackings from West Brom and Reading were widely viewed as harsh, the point still stands: He was sacked.
His career was on the line when he arrived at Rugby Park. Despite a proven track record as an assistant to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, he knew he needed to show his worth as a boss.
He has certainly done that. Clarke yesterday collected his third consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership Manager of the Month award. Last weekend’s 1-0 win at Partick Thistle saw Killie become the first top-flight team to win five games on the bounce this season and their surge up the table has been truly spectacular.
Admitting he was in the last-chance saloon when he arrived in Ayrshire earlier this season, Clarke said: ‘If I’m being honest, after two managerial jobs and a lot of good coaching jobs, this was probably my last chance as a manager.
‘So, if I’d come up here and it had gone pear-shaped, then it would’ve been difficult for me to get back in as a manager.
‘It could have been a really long winter for me had things gone differently. I knew that when I took the job.
‘But I was confident in my own ability, quietly confident. I’m not one to go about shouting from the rooftops about what I can and can’t do. I was quietly confident I could turn things round here.
‘I think there’s probably a time in your career you might need to go chasing the money because, first and foremost, it’s a job, a profession, and you have to make sure your family is secure.
‘Your family can be secure for a few generations if you do it properly in professional football because the rewards are there now. But, for me, it wasn’t about chasing money. It was about trying to get a job where I could maybe have a longer run at it, a bit more influence in and around the club.
‘Kilmarnock just ticked a lot of boxes for me. It was just the right job at the right time. But I know that things can work very short-term in football. Just look at Owen Coyle — he arrived at the same time as me but has already lost his job.
‘That is the way it can go. You need to have a strong board who really back you and I believe I have that here. The fans have also been absolutely superb with me since day one.’
Clarke was sacked by West Brom just months after leading the club to their highest-ever Premier League finish of eighth.
Similarly, Reading also pulled the plug despite him leading the club to an FA Cup semi-final.
He realises, then, that the perception in England may be that Clarke had now returned to Scotland with his tail between his legs.
But the 54-year-old replied: ‘I’m not sure if people down south would have been surprised I took this job. But, to be honest, I don’t really care.
‘I don’t really go looking around and asking people what I’m doing. I’m very independent. I make all my own decisions. I don’t go asking people whether I should do this or do that.
‘I think if you’ve got the confidence in your own ability you make your own decisions. Then you roll with it.
‘If it works out well then, great, I’ve made a good decision. If it doesn’t, then it’s my fault. I can live with that.’
Killie right-back Stephen O’Donnell was also named yesterday as the Player of the Month for March. But it is the future of two of his fellow defenders which has Clarke’s attention at the moment.
Stuart Findlay has impressed during a season-long loan from Newcastle United, with Clarke saying: ‘Stuart is out of contract down there at the end of the season.
‘He is one of a number of players we have spoken to and we are keen to get it done. It would be great to keep him because we want to build something..’
Clarke also hopes that utility man Greg Taylor will follow Rory McKenzie, Alan Power, Greg Kiltie, Gary Dicker and Eamonn Brophy and commit his long-term future to the club.
‘We have already managed to tie a few guys down and, hopefully, more will follow. That’s part of what we want to build — a real solid club with a good environment.
‘You never want eight, nine, ten players to be coming and going. That’s no good for anyone.’
“It could have been a long winter for me”