Live Chat With JJ

Believe it or not this is the 100th B&H column. Ah, it seems like only yesterday we were writing a load of rubbish and passing it off as journalism…hold on...that was yesterday! We’ve transcripted the recent live chat with Jim Jefferies and Davie Mackinnon and will feature one this week and one next week, and the gaffer gets the nod first. A big thanks to all the fans that participated and of course Jim and Davie for going under the spotlight.

What have been your thoughts on the team’s recent performances and what will you be doing to help them improve their game?
I think we have had two very poor performances against Dunfermline and Livingston but we played very well against Aberdeen. The two games before Dunfermline were against Celtic (away) and Hearts at home and I think we were unlucky to only take one point from those two games as our performances deserved more. Against Dundee United we just didn't get the breaks, we could easily have gone in 2 – 0 up. Boydie and Naismith both scored goals that were disallowed. Our biggest problem in recent weeks has been individual errors. We just need to keep going over this with these young players and hopefully they'll learn.

What is the current situation with Paul Di Giacomo?
Paul has come back terrifically well and has recently returned to full training. We've discussed the possibility of him going on loan to get him playing regularly with a view to him being available for next season.

Which of your summer signings has pleased you the most?
Alan Combe has done very well and Peter Leven has also proved himself to be a good capture.

How do you think you can stop our losing streak against Dundee?
Quite simple - we must defend like we did against Rangers on Sunday and show the same commitment and passion as we do against the teams above us. I have stressed this to the players.

The Kilmarnock squad is one of the largest in the SPL at the moment, and with the club being around £12million in debt, are there any plans to cut the squad in January or the summer?
The size of the squad doesn't matter, it's the total wage bill that counts. We are on a very limited wage bill. We now have a very young squad and that bodes well for the future. We will be looking to free up some signings to provide cover for defence and any injuries/suspensions that should occur.

Why have we not reverted to the back three/five that was so successful when we finished fourth - especially with the lack of natural full backs at the club?
Most successful teams play 4-4-2. The problem with a back three is that teams can easily combat this by playing two wide and one through the middle, forcing teams to revert to a back four. Celtic were successful with a back three but struggled against some teams who combated this (mainly Rangers). Celtic now play with a back four. Again, I don't believe it's to do with what system we are playing but individual errors.

What are your plans for the January transfer window? Any major transfers and has anyone put a bid in for Boydie?
We've had no offers for Kris. Any activity on the transfer front will be dependent on players leaving. We are working to a strict budget so players must leave for new ones to be brought in. However, we have had no enquiries about our players. Some of our younger players might go on loan to gain match experience and fitness.

Are you planning to play Wolski in the first team before the trial period is over?
Mickael was brought in on a months contract to cover us while David Lilley is suspended for three games. Had we lost any other defenders, Mickael would be there to cover.

Do you think that some of our defensive problems could be down to players not playing in their favoured position e.g. Freddie at left back?
One of our problems last year was that we lost too many goals when Freddy and Gordon were paired in the centre of defence. This again happened at the start of the year. We had no option but to change things. At left back Freddy kept a clean sheet in his first game against Motherwell and the goals we lost at Celtic came from a free kick and a corner. He did start out as a left back.

How is dressing room morale at the moment?
Morale in the dressing room is fantastic. They know that they've made individual errors that have cost us. They are a great bunch of lads who work hard in training. If anyone wants to come to training then they'll see that for themselves. However, we do struggle with lack of training facilities in Ayrshire and we've spent the last month travelling to Glasgow to train on astroturf. The limited resources are always a problem.

Were you pleased with Hooky's performance against Rangers and do you now see him as left back for the foreseeable future?
Hooky deserved to be Foster's man of the match on Sunday. People forget that he was injured at the start of the season. However, if he continues to play like he did on Sunday then he'll keep his place.

Do you think Killie fans expectations are too high? Is it unrealistic to think that we should be challenging for a top six spot each season?
At the present time, it is perhaps too high to expect an automatic top six place. Unlike previous seasons, Kilmarnock no longer pays top wages. Like most clubs have experienced, revenues are considerably down and we now only pay a third of the wages we did three to five years ago. The important thing to remember is that this is a transition period and that our young squad will only improve over the next few seasons. Seven of Sunday's team were Scots aged under 23. When was the last time Kilmarnock fielded a team so young?

In terms of style, do you prefer to stick to a set way of playing, i.e. adapt players to a formation or change formation to suit the players?
This year, depending on the team we are playing against, we've played either 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.

Do you feel that the performances of the team of the team over the past two months have been acceptable?
The team has been very unfortunate, having said that, too many individual errors have cost us dearly. In our recent run of no wins in seven games, we've only played badly in two of them.

How do you rate Naismith (right) after his performance against Rangers?
Steven Naismith is a terrific prospect. He complained after the game on Sunday that he felt the pace but it is all part of the learning process for him and I'm sure he'll feature in a few more games before the end of the season.

Who is the resident dressing room joker then?
It is a constant battle between Ian Durrant, Boydie and Gary Locke…all three provide great banter.

What do you think of Simon Ford’s recent performances? He looks like he has potential, but he has made a couple of costly errors.
In Simon's first three games when he joined the club, we thought he preformed excellently and we thought we'd found a really good player. Since then though, we feel he's been too casual and have spoken to him about this. His performance against Rangers showed that he has taken this on board and performed on Sunday as he did when he joined the club. He told me this morning that he is aiming for greater consistency.

What is your opinion on Graeme Smith?
I think that Smith has proved in the two games he's played that he's more than an adequate deputy for Alan Combe.

What value would you place on Kris Boyd’s head?
The only reason that Kris will leave Kilmarnock is if the club receives an offer it can't turn down, but this is true for all clubs in Scotland with talented players.

Is Eric Skora's injury a disappointment to you, or was there no chance of him returning in January anyway?
After Eric's loan spell here, he was always one that we would love to have at the club for a longer period, so it was a major disappointment when he received his serious injury. We wish him a speedy recovery. Even if he had been fully fit though, it would have been difficult to bring him here in the current financial situation.

Who has the worst dress sense?
Gordon Greer - no doubt about it!

If you could pick one player from any other SPL team to add to the Killie squad - cash and wages not an issue (for a change!), who would you pick?
It would have to be an experienced top class defender who would make all the difference…probably Boumsong.

Are you interested in bringing Lee Makel and Paul Ritchie to Killie in January?
We don't have the resources to bring anyone in at the moment and have made no moves to sign any player.

How is Allan Johnston (right) enjoying life at Killie?
Allan is loving it here. He is frustrated that, being out of the game through injury and switching clubs, he's not quite achieved the consistency he is capable of. I'm sure it's only a matter of time until he proves himself to be the class player he is. No doubt about it.

We played better on Sunday (against the huns) than we have for a wee while, was it a one-off or is it a sign of things to come?
As I've said previously, in the last seven games, we've only played badly in two of them. I'm sure we can take much from Sunday and try to transform our performances against those above us to those teams below us.

Don't you think that Invincibile (right) plays better through the middle than out wide?
We think Danny plays better wide. He's strong quick and powerful however, a weakness of his is when he has his back to goal and that's needed when you play through the middle. It's not to say he won't play there again and we'll be working every day in training on improving him and all our players.

Will Gary Locke be back soon as we miss his presence in the team?
Locke started training with the first team today and will take part in a close door game tomorrow and if he comes through that ok, will be in the squad for the game against Dundee.

Jim what is the current position with Eric Joly? Is he finding it hard to settle?
Eric is a very good footballer and is trying hard to adapt to a different style of football in Scotland. The game is far quicker and aggressive than in the continent and more demanding on the physical side. He is working very hard to change and we'll give him every chance to do so. Right now though, the good form of Locke, McDonald and Leven make it even harder for him to break through.

What is your favoured strike partnership if everyone was fit?
We are very fortunate that we have four strikers, which all teams like to have. Most of our strikers can combine with each other but our favourites are the ones who are doing well at the time! There is no real preference.

We seem to be very predictable at set pieces. How much time is given to this in training?
We spend a lot of time on set plays and every Friday is dedicated to team talk and set plays prior to the game.

Why was Colin Nish playing right midfield against Rangers?
Nish wasn't playing there! We played 4-3-3 with Boydie through the middle and Nish and Naismith playing in the right and left channels up front. He put in a terrific amount of work to shut down Rangers' full backs.

Peter Leven…the new Stevie Fulton?
There are similar attributes, both play on the same side and have great vision. If Peter turns out to be as good as Stephen Fulton then we'll have an extremely talented player on our hands!

Gary McDonald was taken off early in the Rangers game, is there a problem for next week?
He had a dead leg against Rangers but trained this morning and will be in the squad for the Dundee game.

Is Boydie match fit?
Not yet. He's been out for six games and there are no reserve games to get him match fit so we have to play him in the first team to get his match sharpness back. We hope he's benefited from his last three games.

Is a European place out of our reach for this season after the last few results?
We'll never give up on our first target of top six and if we succeed then we'll look to Europe. Motherwell recently lost five games on the trot (one of which was to us) then went on a six game winning streak which propelled them into a top six position, and in this league if you put three or four wins together, you can move up very rapidly, we'll work extremely hard to ensure this happens.

Do the players read killiefc.com?
I don’t know, as it's never a topic of discussion. Our players can't work computers! Thanks for the questions – I hope everyone at killiefc.com and all our fans have a great Christmas and a great new year! All the best, Jim.

Davie MacKinnon On-Line Chat Interview HERE

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