Johnston: I made an error with Eremenko
UNDER-FIRE Kilmarnock manager Allan Johnston admitted he got it wrong as his side failed to gain the win which would have hoisted them into the top six.
With the scoreline locked at 1-1, he took off fans’ favourite Alexei Eremenko as the home support chanted: ‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’
Johnston had his own reasons for making the switch but confessed that he had made a mistake.
‘It was the last 20 minutes of the game and I was looking to freshen things up,’ he said. ‘I was trying to get a bit more legs in the team.
‘But, looking back, you always assess your decision to see if it was the right one. We probably needed that bit of experience and bit of quality in the last 20 minutes.
‘So it was probably the wrong decision to take him off. It hurts to get beat. Abuse is part and parcel of being a manager.’
He refused, however, to bow to the wishes of the supporters who loudly demanded that he should quit.
‘You get it as a player and you get it as a manager,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to make sure you respond in the right manner and try to prove people wrong.’
Matchwinner Billy McKay, meanwhile, took his tally for the season to nine goals and increased his transfer value — should he leave the Highlands this month — after indicating that he was unlikely to extend his contract beyond the end of the season.
‘It’s not difficult to ignore the speculation,’ he said. ‘I’m contracted to Inverness and every time I train with them or play for them I’m going to try my hardest.
‘Every player wants to play at the highest level and I’m no different but it’s out of my hands at the moment.
‘It’s up to a club to come in for me and to Inverness to decide whether or not they’ll accept that bid.
‘Signing a new deal isn’t what I’m looking to do at the minute but you never say never — I might have a change of heart and stay.
‘I’m in no rush to leave. We’re playing well as a team, we’ve just moved up to third and we’re still in the Scottish Cup. There are still a lot of things to do here.’