Do You Remember ?
Dylan Kerr
1996-2000
(Dec 24th 2000)
Kerr
a Scottish Cup winner
Were Dylan Kerr
to choose to shoot from the lip at Kilmarnock, he has not knowing t
his
sentiments would be misinterpreted as sour grapes. Let go at the end of
last season Kerr has said nothing and simply get on with the business of
finding another club.
"I am not going to start a slanging
match. I just happened to be at a club (Killie) which had four
left-backs and I was the one unfortunate enough to suffer a long-term
injury.
'The fact is I don't think the club
expected me to make it back. It was business, nothing personal, so what
is the point in me having a go at certain people.
'It's been hard going. But what has
happened has happened and there is nothing I can do to change that.
Things simply didn't work out as I had hoped, even though I felt I did
my best for the club.
'It isn't easy getting back in these
days the way football has become. But I know I still have something to
offer - if only someone will give me the chance to prove it.'
Things have not worked out for Dylan
since his Killie departure as he is no nearer achieving full-time
employment and a decent wage.
Go to Killie in Europe
HERE
Instead, Kerr is currently existing on
£48-a-week dole money and expenses paid trips to Slough to turn out for
the Ryman League side on a Saturday afternoon.
It must also be said that fate has not
been overly generous to Kerr, but he has not lost his ability to laugh
at life, albeit a little ruefully these days, given his current
circumstances.
'Like the Murphys, I am not bitter,'
'Disillusioned, maybe. Bitter, no. Unfortunately, by the end of the
season there are going to be a lot of players in a similar situation
because football appears to be carrying out a cost-cutting exercise at
the minute.'
Almost from the moment he collected
his
Scottish Cup winner's medal at Ibrox in
May 1997, life took a nasty
twist for the full-back who spent 16 months sidelined by a recurring
groin injury.
Upon his release from Rugby Park,
Kerr imagined that someone somewhere had work for an experienced
left-back.
Not so. 'I spoke to a few clubs and Ally
McCoist had
a word with Ian Atkins at Carlisle.
The upshot was that I got a call from Atkins,' recalled Kerr. 'But in my
first game some numpty at Gretna decided to play Kung Fu with my
shoulder and I couldn't train for a month.
'So that was Carlisle down the tubes.
After that I trained with Ayr for a spell, but they were already covered
in my position.'
'After that, my mate Martin Deaner,
who owns Slough, came in,' continued Kerr. 'I've played eight or nine
games for them since October. But I don't receive any wages, just the
cost of my air fare.'
