WE CAN DO A LEICESTER!

Killie supremo sets sights on dream title tilt

KILMARNOCK’S major shareholder Billy Bowie believes the shock Premiership leaders can become Scotland’s answer to Leicester City.

The Rugby Park director attracted derision in May when he claimed Killie could launch a challenge for the title.

Now a point clear at the summit following Wednesday’s home win over Livingston, the Ayrshire businessman has been vindicated by results — with bookmakers slashing the club’s title odds from 500-1 to 200-1.

Bowie has labelled Steve Clarke the best manager in the country and now wants Scotland’s oldest

professional club to mark their 150th birthday with a Leicesterstyle tilt at the league crown. ‘I’ve been pinching myself,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘Everywhere you go it’s: “Well done, Billy”. Even my customers in England have been texting me all day. ‘It’s funny because, before Wednesday night, you’d hear a lot of people saying if results went this way or that way we could be top. ‘And you’re thinking to yourself: “That will never happen”. But then you see what happened on Wednesday night. ‘Can we do a Leicester? It would be nice to try. We’re going to keep going and doing what we do. ‘If we can do what Leicester did, fair enough, but what it’s really about is sustaining the progress the club have made whatever happens. ‘We’re Scotland’s oldest professional club, about to celebrate our 150th anniversary in the new year and you couldn’t script it any better. ‘It’s great to be where we are and it would be fantastic to be top of the league for the celebrations.’ Bottom of the top flight when Clarke took control in October 2017, Killie secured a fifth-placed finish last season. Their only league triumph was in 1965, while no club has managed to wrestle the crown from Celtic or Rangers in 33 years. Mocked for suggesting Killie could stage a serious challenge to the traditional order, Bowie added: ‘I think that I’ve been proven right. ‘People laughed at me, but every supporter will say the same now. ‘Steve Clarke is one of the top managers around. We leave him to get on with it, everything is done professionally and he couldn’t do it any better than he’s doing it now. ‘Every day people tell me he’s the best manager in the Scottish league and we’re delighted to have him. ‘If Steve comes to us seeking help for more players in January, we’ll do our best to support him.’ Bowie wants fans lost during the turmoil of former chairman Michael Johnston’s time in charge to return in numbers and reward the efforts of manager and team. ‘I think back to when we hired Steve when we were bottom of the league and it’s great,’ added the Killie shareholder. ‘Everybody is pulling together now and I’ve been saying to fans: “You need to come and support the club. There are no excuses now”.’