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Coach Andy gives son Ross both barrels after red card left Killie empty-handed against Saints

YOU sense the atmosphere at home might have been a little cool in the aftermath of Ross Millen’s costly red card for Kilmarnock last weekend.

Dad Andy is, of course, the club’s assistant manager. And the no-nonsense, professional approach that helped extend a playing career well into his mid-40s has clearly been maintained in the coaching outlook of Millen senior.

Forget any notion of paternal favouritism towards his boy. He is not one for sugar-coating the realities of a dismissal that played a significant part in the Rugby Park club being denied their first Premiership win of the season.

Three points had looked on their way when Aaron Tshibola provided a second-half lead against St Johnstone.

Two minutes later, however, their 25-year-old right-back was shown a straight red card for a rash lunge on Scott Tanser.

The horror felt by the younger Millen deepened significantly when Saints turned the game on its head with two goals in the closing stages.

As for his old man? Well, he made it clear he felt no conflict of interest when it came to frank discussions on footballing matters with his son.

‘Anyone who knows me will tell you that, since I’ve been at this club, he doesn’t exist in here,’ said Millen, with typical forthrightness.

‘I just treat him the same as anyone else, we just stay in the same house. Sometimes in another part of the house!

‘Seriously though, he has a better conversational relationship with his mother than me. ‘There was no malice in the tackle, but it changed the game. Unfortunately for him, he let himself down and more importantly, he let his teammates down. ‘That’s life. At the end of the day, his decisionmaking was wrong, he has got to take it on the chin. You need to learn from these mistakes, that’s how you get better at football. If you want to progress in the game you need to make mistakes, but the better players make fewer mistakes.

‘The things I always talk about are decision-making, which is massive, good discipline and listening and learning.’

Millen’s suspension will open the way for Aaron McGowan to start at Ibrox tomorrow as Kilmarnock seek to lengthen their record as regular irritant to Rangers. Alex Dyer’s side won the last meeting between the clubs at Rugby Park in February.

‘You take every game on its own merit,’ countered No 2 Millen. ‘Rangers are a right good side and have actually improved the side again when they are able to go and get the boy (Kemar) Roofe. We understand that, but we also hope it will be a difficult game for them as well.

‘Listen, I think if you are a football player then the games

Off: Ross Millen’s red card was costly for Killie, much to the chagrin of dad Andy (below), the club’s assistant manager against the Old Firm are ones you want to play in.

‘Unfortunately, there won’t be any fans but these are the stadiums you want to play in and the teams you want to test yourself against. You want to show people you are good enough to play at that level of football.

‘We have got players who have played at that level — (Kirk) Broadfoot and (Chris) Burke, (Gary) Dicker and (Alan) Power. There are younger ones in the team who want to aspire to try and get to that level.’

Kilmarnock already have a 1-1 draw against Celtic on their books this season, but that point was one of only two gathered from their first four league games.

Adding more high-level experience could help. To that end, Millen very much kept the door open on the possibility of Youssouf Mulumbu returning to Rugby Park for a third spell.

The 33-year-old midfielder has been without a club since the expiry of his Celtic contract last year.

‘Mulumbu and the manager have a good relationship and they have kept in touch over the past six months or even since he left the club,’ said Millen.

‘But it’s just hearsay. He is someone of quality and Kilmarnock are always looking for people with quality. But at the moment there is nothing to say that Youssouf Mulumbu is in the building or going to be signing.

‘If you are fortunate enough to work with Youssouf, you know that he is a very, very good football player. More importantly, he is a really good human being.

‘He is someone who, at the time he was here, was very good for the dressing room. You don’t play in the English Premier League for the length of time he did without having quality. He’s quality.’

Asked whether it would be an issue that Mulumbu had not played for so long, Millen added: ‘I think if Youssouf Mulumbu was coming back to play anywhere, it’s only natural that he would take a wee bit to get up to speed.

‘But in terms of ability, you never lose that. With his age, he would be even more refined.’