Killie boss Jim Jefferies shares what
it takes to manage an SPL team post the SPL's Sky TV deal collapsed two
years ago. This cost every top-flight club £1.8m a year, in
income!.........
'I had £180,000 as a wages budget at
the start of the season after losing
Stevie Fulton,
Alan Mahood,
Martin Hardie, Barry McLaughlin and a few others.
'We had to find replacements and I managed
to sign SIX players for that.
'Some guys are on £180,000 a year at other
clubs - we got six for that.
'I'm not saying they're all on £30,000 but
that's the average. Yet we have to go in against Rangers who are paying
guys £30,000 a week.
'We think we've done OK and are managing to
stick to the business plan.
'The problem is people aren't aware of these
figures and the expectations aren't realistic.
'People like
Christophe
(Cocard ) were on massive wages when I came here after Kilmarnock
had enjoyed success by winning the Scottish Cup.
'Three weeks after I came in the TV deal
collapsed. The £1.8m we and other clubs had budgeted for was gone.
'Suddenly the job description had changed
but I just had to get on with it - just like every club at that time.
'It bugs me when I keep hearing how well
Hearts have done 'despite all the cutbacks.' 'But what club hasn't had
cutbacks? We've all had to deal with it.
'Our average wage just now is around £800 a
week. Rangers' centre-half Jean-Alain Boumsong went to Newcastle for
£8m. Ours - Simon Ford - is registered as an amateur.
'I've even had to allow a couple of the
youngsters out on loan to save money.
'I've signed Mickael Wolski who has taken
the budget slightly over £180,000 but the kids on loan bring it back
down.'
On Being More Physical....
'When I took over we were a Subbuteo team - we didn't have any physical
presence.
'It's something we've been conscious of.
It's important to have big, strong players in the SPL and they're not
easy to get.
'We feel we've done well to build a side
that can handle the physical part of the game.
'Most teams now are looking for players like
that. Celtic did it and Rangers had to do it this year by bringing in
guys like Boumsong and Marvin Andrews.
'It's something you have to do to be able to
compete in a league like this. The game has changed in the last few
years. It's far more physical.'
On the 2004-05
Squad... 'People have to remember this is still an
inexperienced side. Kris Boyd is only 20, Steven Naismith has just
turned 18, Peter Leven is 20, Gary McDonald 21 and keeper Graeme Smith
is also just 20.
'So it's a young team and they can only
improve - things will get better for us.
'We've a good squad with talented young
players in it.
'We've been inconsistent but that's what you
get when you bring young boys into the side.
'It happened at Aberdeen and Motherwell -
when they had to make cutbacks and play kids both finished bottom of the
league but were saved by other criteria. It's a test of patience for
every club, including Kilmarnock.'
Killie
general manager David McKinnon on the State of the SPL...
'What is going to work? Everybody is fed up with playing each other four
times a season.
'It's not healthy and the standard and the
gates have dropped. Dunfermline had a great season last year, qualifying
for Europe and the Scottish Cup Final.
'Yet despite all that they still only had an
average gate of 4,500.
'Motherwell had won six games in a row when
I went to their match with Inverness and the crowd was just 4,200.'
