FALLEN ANGELO
Dyer in the frame as Killie sack manager
ALEX DyEr will be a serious candidate for the Kilmarnock job if he impresses during a lengthy trial run in the wake of Angelo Alessio’s sacking yesterday.
The Italian lasted less than six months in the job amid reports of dressing-room unhappiness at his running of the team and a strained relationship with his first-team squad.
Arguably, Alessio never recovered from the humiliation of defeat to Welsh minnows Connah’s Quay Nomads in Europa League qualifying, while his attempts to put his mark on a team that had performed so well under Steve Clarke were met with frustration.
Despite appearing to steady the ship, and taking the team to fifth in the Premiership, a recent run that has seen just one win in eight games forced Killie’s hand.
Dyer’s claim on the top job immediately received backing from Killie legend
There were rumblings of discontent right from the off at Killie
UNVEILING Angelo Alessio as the new manager of Kilmarnock back in June, club owner Billy Bowie was in no doubt as to the Italian’s pedigree.
New Scotland manager Steve Clarke may have left big shoes to fill but the Rugby Park chief boldly declared the 54-year-old — who had never been in charge of a top-flight club — was now ‘the best manager in Scottish football’.
Such outlandish confidence was based on Alessio’s high-profile previous posts as No 2 to Antonio Conte at Juventus, Chelsea and the Italy national team.
Those roles had seen him work alongside world-class superstars like Eden Hazard, Andrea Pirlo, Cesc Fabregas, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini. But the arrival of this so-called footballing heavyweight in Kilmarnock would precede the most humiliating knockout blow in the proud 150-year history of the oldest professional club in Scotland.
A long 18-year wait for continental football ended suddenly with a horror 3-2 aggregate Europa League qualifying exit to Connah’s Quay Nomads; a Welsh part-time team featuring a cocktail barman, a security guard and a former bare-knuckle boxer.
Rumours soon began swirling of a revolt with up to eight players wanting to quit the club, unhappy at life under Alessio.
The impression that all was not well was not helped by the departure of chief executive Kirsten Robertson, following fitness coach Andy White and recruitment chief Tony Spearing out the door.
Former Rangers and Scotland defender Kirk Broadfoot was the first to be publicly critical of the Italian’s ‘flat’ training methods, revealing he went out running in his spare time because he did not feel fit enough.
‘I know Alessio has worked at some top clubs with some top players but I’m not sure (his training) was right for the guys we had at Kilmarnock,’ said Broadfoot after quitting to rejoin St Mirren.
‘If I’d stayed and things had remained the same, I’d have ended up walking away from football.’
For Kris Boyd, the Connah’s Quay exit was down to Alessio foolishly ripping up the tried-andtrusted Clarke blueprint that had just seen Killie finish third, their highest position in the league since 1966.
After that disastrous 180-minute showing, Boyd believes the Kilmarnock players took charge of the dressing room and went back to basics.
That yielded short-term results that see Kilmarnock sitting in fifth place but with just one win in their last eight matches.
And Boyd believes his old club deserves credit for taking the difficult decision to declare this
Italian job a botched experiment and dispensing with Alessio after just six months into a three-year deal.
‘When someone comes in and tries to change everything that has gone on before, you can tell the writing was on the wall,’ said Boyd. ‘There were rumblings (of discontent) right from the off.
‘The club was in a good place, getting results. Kilmarnock were very hard to beat but then Alessio’s first message was he was going to play open, expansive football and get two strikers on the pitch.
‘I don’t think at that time Kilmarnock had two strikers in the building let alone out on the pitch!
‘Did the Connah’s Quay defeat set the tone? It was always going to be an uphill battle after that.
‘But the first league game (a narrow 2-1 home defeat to Rangers) saw Kilmarnock back to being solid and hard to beat.
‘They got a few results but, for me, that was down to the players going back to what they were doing last season.
‘The players maybe took it upon themselves because that’s what got them results and success last season.
‘People may turn around and say the players were not listening to their manager but they knew what type of players they were and how to get results.
‘So a lot of credit has to go to the players for the short time that Angelo Alessio was in charge.
‘But it’s now one win in eight and that was against a Hearts team that had sacked their manager and were struggling themselves.
‘It’s disappointing but you have to say well done to Kilmarnock for making the decision now ahead of a big transfer window coming up in January.’
Defender Scott Boyd joined his namesake Kris in retiring in the summer while influential Northern Irish winger Jordan
Jones signed for Rangers. Daniel Bachmann, Aaron Tshibola, Conor McAleny, Mikael Ndjoli and Youssouf Mulumbu also left at the end of their loan spells.
Alessio brought in a clutch of loan players and some, like Juventus goalkeeper Laurentiu Branescu, Cagliari defender Dario Del Fabro and QPR defender Niko Hamalainen, have been a success.
But other loans like Connor Johnson from Wolves, Venezia attacker Harvey St Clair and Dundee United striker Osman Sow — who has yet to score — have made little or no impact.
Former striker Boyd expects funds to be released for a January shake-up at Rugby Park.
‘I would not be surprised if there’s an overhaul of the dressing room in January and the new man is allowed to bring in a few players to hopefully see Kilmarnock get to the top six again,’ added Boyd.