Killie Now Officially Magic!

Jim Jefferies revealed his latest signing today to a packed media centre at Rugby Park...only days after telling killiefc.com that he though there was no way we could afford a player of his calibre. JJ has worked his 'magic' again to sign a player who was reputedly on twenty grand a week at Premiership Middlesbrough, and still has enough in the tank to sign a new centre half...

Davie Mackinnon said: "We are delighted to be signing a player of Allan's calibre. He's a player I've personally admired for a long time and we're over the moon that we have signed him up for the next three years. This has been a period of transition for the club having lost nine players and bringing in five, but we are still working within our budget. The result on Saturday fills me full of confidence that we are taking steps in the right direction and I can confirm that there will be one more signing before the transfer deadline, bringing the total to six."

Jim Jefferies added: "I have been chasing Allan for a couple of years now but he has been involved in some big money moves that were out of our league. This has all came about in the last 48 hours and it just shows you how situations can change. Allan had promised me a while back that if he ever came back to Scotland then I would get the first chance to sign him, and he's stayed true to that promise. Allan is of the age where he needs to be settled and be getting regular football, especially if he's going to fulfill his international ambitions. We can give him the stage and the opportunity to do that, and the Killie fans, who like their football, are in for a real treat."

The man himself had this to say: "I had several options with a couple of clubs in England and a few in Scotland wanting me to sign but I really wanted to play for Kilmarnock and team up with Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown again. I want to start enjoying my football again and Killie really fit the bill. Of course I would like to play for Scotland again, but my main priority is to play regularly for Kilmarnock and do the business here first and foremost."

Jim said: "This is a deal we have been looking at for a while but to be honest I thought that it would never happen because of the money situation, we also wanted to keep it quiet in case any other clubs interfered. The good news is that Allan is here for the football and not the money and that fact that he's sitting here now is proof of that."

He added: "I made certain that I had enough left in the budget to still bring in a new centre half and we will purse that over the next few weeks. We have to try and persuade players that we have something special here and I think we are achieving that. Coming back from training today Allan himself remarked what a good player he thought Eric Joly was, that tells you something. We want players who will get the ball down and pass it about and entertain the crowd and these guys fall into that category."

"Allan had been training himself and then with Hartlepool so he still lacks match fitness, but he wont get match fit if he doesn't play so we will give him a run out in the U19 game tonight if we get clearance in time (DM confirms that we have clearance). There is no doubt that he will be involved against Celtic on Saturday at some level, we can't afford to leave a player of his quality out, but we'll see how it goes."

Davie Mackinnon said: "I just like to re-iterate what Jamie Moffat was saying the other day about Jim, that we are delighted he has signed his two year extension. I have never met anyone as adept in the transfer market and when I look around and see the talent he has brought to this club...all within budget...I don't know how he does it."

It may seem a bit hard for some fans to believe that Johnston could take such wage cut to sign for Killie. JJ said: "I was up front with Allan from the start about the money situation. I made it clear to him that I only had a certain budget for this season and that I had to make sure I had enough left to sign a defender. The three year deal on the table will ensure that Allan gets a better deal from next season but as it stands he was more than happy to accept what I had to offer as it's not about the money for him any more, it's about playing football."

As for the rumours that Killie had knocked back a bid by big spending English minnows Boston Utd for Boomer, apparently that was never on the cards. Jim said: "I had a phone call from someone at Boston enquiring about Boydie but they wanted to take him on loan, not buy him. When I explained that he was a first team player here and there was no way he would be going out on loan the guy apologised as he obviously was unaware of the situation here...the rest was down to paper talk."

So will Allan Johnston be the biggest signing for Killie since Tommy Burns or Ian Durrant? That remains to be seen, one thing is for sure...this guy has performed at the top level and seems keen as mustard to do his best at the Theatre of Pies...and we'll be right behind him.