‘I can’t just sprinkle fairy dust to fix this’ warns Coyle
KILMARNOCK
V ROSS COUNTY
New Ross County manager Owen Coyle has warned he does not have a “magic wand” to spark instant improvement.
Jim Mcintyre lost his job after a run of six defeats and one draw in seven matches.
Coyle has only had two days of training ahead of today’s trip to Kilmarnock and expects it will take much longer to put his methods and ideas in place.
Theformerburnleymanager, pictured, said: “You obviously want to make sure you have a strong fortress at home. I always felt it was a difficult place to come and you want to get back to that by winning games.
“But you don’t come with a magic wand and fairy dust and sprinkle it. It takes hard work on the training ground, it takes repetition, it takes people enjoying what they are doing and being out there looking to win games.”
County’s five Ladbrokes Premiership defeats this season have all come against teams currently occupying the top six places but today presents a different challenge when they face the bottom club at Rugby Park.
Kilmarnock are still looking for their first win but are only a point behind County after drawing three of their last four matches. Coyle accepts the Ayrshire contest will be seen as a vital encounter but he also knows his team will progress in line with his own ideas in the coming months.
“It’s the nature of the game, every game is a huge game, but it’s the same three points that are available the next week and the week after,” he said. “But the game we are in, you want to pick up points as soon as possible. “Is Saturday an important game? Yes, as they all are. But the next weeks and months will give us a chance to assess the squad that’s here, because everybody has their own flavour in terms of players they like.
“The important thing is over the period of time you put the right building blocks in place to have a team that can win games and look to push on.”
Kilmarnock manager Lee Mcculloch played with Coyle at Motherwell and expects his former team-mate to have an immediate impact on the club.
He said: “They might get a slight lift from Owen being in there. I’ve known him since I was maybe 16, so I know what type of character he is and I’m expecting a tough game.
“He’s 51 now, so you could argue he’s an experienced manager and a driven guy and I think it will be tough, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
Last week’s 1-1 draw with Dundee was the fourth time Killie have gone behind in the opening ten minutes this season. “The goals we’ve conceded have mostly been individual errors,” added Mcculloch. “That’s frustrating.”