KILLIE boss Jim Jefferies is 7/2
favourite to become the first SPL manager to lose his job - and he's
delighted.
.....
He said: 'I'm not a betting man but only
last week a friend gave me and my assistant Billy Brown a tip for a
horse they said couldn't lose and we both fell for it.
'There were only seven horses in the field
and our so-called dead cert didn't even finish in the first three.
'But I'm not bitter at being tipped for the
sack. After 16 years as a manager you become immune to criticism and
rationalise the reasons why punters say you're most likely to fall.
'Aberdeen, Hibs, Livi and Dunfermline have
all appointed new managers in the close season so they won't be in the
frame.
'Jim Duffy has done a magnificent job in
horrendous circumstances at Dundee so he's not a contender. And neither
will Martin O'Neill nor Alex McLeish for obvious reasons.
'I'm favourite because there's no-one else
left.'
'I have management skills I have taken to a
variety of clubs along with an instinct for survival.
'But the job today is about being an
economist as much as a strategist. I had a
Killie team that finished fourth and almost qualified for Europe at
the end of my first season two years ago.
'But since then I've had to lose nine
regulars to reduce the wage bill and adhere to the chairman's business
plan for better financial health.
'And the cuts go on. In the close season we
lost Alan Mahood, Barry McLaughlin, Colin Meldrum, Francois Dubourdeaux,
Martin Hardie, Stevie Fulton and Gary McSwegan.
'That's a lot of experience but in return I
was only able to sign Alan Combe, Peter Leven and Gary Wales because
they cost nothing.
'Financial constraints like these might
sicken a less experienced manager but I accept hardship as a fact of
life and move on.'
'The bookies have to target somebody and
that pressure makes me more determined to succeed.
'We
finished outside the top six last season because we were going
through a transitional period. That won't be taken into account in the
long run, either.
'Club management is a high-profile,
low-tolerance job. Supporters are heavily influenced by what they read
and hear about the game - it's the nature of the beast.'
Jefferies, is a battle-scarred veteran whose
tour of duty has taken him to Berwick, Falkirk, Hearts and Bradford
before his deployment at Rugby Park, has recent proof favourites don't
always romp it.
