Popular Post 19snickers88 Posted February 21, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Former Kilmarnock winger Pat Nevin insists Steve Clarke’s amazing Rugby Park transformation is no surprise considering his former A-list colleagues. Killie fans are happier than they’ve been for years after winning nine and drawing two of their last 12 games under their impressive gaffer. That run has taken them into the top six and midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has admitted the players are already dreaming of overtaking fourth-placed Hibs to claim a Europa League slot. Killie are 12 points behind Neil Lennon’s men but with winnable games in hand at home to St Johnstone and away to Hamilton plus a home TV match against the Hibees on Saturday the potential is there to reduce that gap. However, according to Nevin – a former team-mate of Clarke’s with Chelsea and Scotland – that’s nothing compared to what the Rugby Park faithful can expect next season. The pundit, who had a spell at Killie towards the end of his career, said: “If Kilmarnock are going to reach the top four and qualify for Europe then these are the games that they need to win. “Steve has said he’s only interested in moving further away from the bottom but you can think two things at once and he’ll also be wondering just how far they can go. Whatever happens next season should be even better for Kilmarnock and their supporters. “You can see the players he has inherited have been impressed by him and bought into what he’s doing" “Managers usually have a go-to guy, someone they can trust and who they take everywhere with them in the way Brendan Rodgers has Chris Davies and Jurgen Klopp has Zeljko Buvac. “Steve isn’t like that though. He started at Newcastle with Ruud Gullit, who he played alongside at Stamford Bridge, but stayed on after Gullit left to be No.2 to Sir Bobby Robson who he had never worked with before. “He eventually went back to Chelsea to head up their youth development programme and then, when Jose Mourinho arrived, he made a few calls and chose to appoint Steve as his No.2, even though they had never met until then. “When Jose left he went to West Ham with Gianfranco Zola, a former team-mate at Stamford Bridge, but two years later when Kenny Dalglish became Liverpool’s manager for a second time he asked Steve to join him at Anfield. “Then he joined another old Chelsea colleague, Roberto di Matteo, at Aston Villa. These guys all chose Steve for a reason.” Nevin was astonished the SFA refused to consider Clarke as a candidate for the job with the national team after Michael O’Neill and Walter Smith rejected it. But he argues Scotland’s loss is Killie’s gain. Nevin said: “When you look at the list of folk Stevie has worked with, you have to ask, ‘Who has a better background? Is there anyone else in the world who has worked at so many top clubs and with so many great managers?’ “The Killie fans will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when Alex McLeish was announced as the new man last week. “It’s surprising the SFA didn’t even speak to him though, especially when you consider who he has worked under.” In his two previous spells as the top man Clarke led West Brom to their highest finish in the Premier League and took Reading to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 88 years. That’s why Nevin hasn’t been surprised at the way Clarke has reinvigorated Kilmarnock who were bottom of the table when he replaced Lee McCulloch last October. He said: “Going back to Steve’s time with the Chelsea youth set-up, it was obvious then he knew his stuff. “He has been at the sharp end of the coaching side for 20 years now and it would be astonishing if he hadn’t learned a lot. “Steve stayed on at Chelsea after Mourinho left the first time and he was the one doing the heavy lifting when Avram Grant was brought in to replace him. He was the brains, doing the tactical work.” 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Great article. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaucyJackPirate Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 As much as I can't be roasted with the Daily Ranger, source; https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/pat-nevin-reveals-kilmarnock-resurgence-12059159 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historyman Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Every time I read about Steve Clarke's track record I'm amazed that he was out of the game for so long when guys like Pardew still get jobs on the back of one good season years ago and Championship level managers just seem to swap clubs in an endless merry go round. He looks and sounds like he is enjoying himself. That more than anything else could play a big part in him staying for a while. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheeOhSee Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Mr Nevin always has a good analysis when he does anything for the BBC. Glad he has written this about us, just goes to show it isn't just the club and fans who can see we are on the up! Despite some obvious bias towards us he is in my eyes the most credible pundit within Scottish football. Cheers Pat! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrogate Peter Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 I've never noticed a pro Kilmarnock bias from Pat Nevin. Agreed he's one of the better pundits but certainly down here when he mentions Scottish football it's obviously mostly OF or occasionally he brings his time at Motherwell into it. First time I've ever heard him speak about us and glad he has because I've wondered how he felt about the club a few times over the years? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fankle Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 13 minutes ago, Harrogate Peter said: I've never noticed a pro Kilmarnock bias from Pat Nevin. Agreed he's one of the better pundits but certainly down here when he mentions Scottish football it's obviously mostly OF or occasionally he brings his time at Motherwell into it. First time I've ever heard him speak about us and glad he has because I've wondered how he felt about the club a few times over the years? I don't think I've seen him say a bad word about Killie, he loved his time with us. I was gutted when he took the chief exec role at Motherwell. If he'd played in that team with Durrant for longer we might have finished further up the table that season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygod Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 He’s openly a Hibs fan and will happily talk about them on air. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby_Doo Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 Oddly enough, after reading that the next YouTube video I watched was preceded by an advert about the resurgence of Pat Nevin's hair. And Jimmy Nesbitt and a bunch of other celebs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygod Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 (edited) He was quite open about that too. His agent told him the amount of TV work he got would relate to the amount hair he had! Edited February 22, 2018 by skygod 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelesboots Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 4 hours ago, Fankle said: I don't think I've seen him say a bad word about Killie, he loved his time with us. I was gutted when he took the chief exec role at Motherwell. If he'd played in that team with Durrant for longer we might have finished further up the table that season. Likewise I have only ever heard him talk positively about his time with us and how much he enjoyed his time playing for us. I think he is one of the better pundits / analysts out there as this article proves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historyman Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 1 hour ago, skygod said: He was quite open about that too. His agent told him the amount of TV work he got would be related to the amount hair he had! Maybe explains why Kris Boyd has gone down the same path - and why you just get Willie Miller on the radio. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bute-killiefan Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 One of, if not the, best pundits on TV. Knows his stuff, doesn't hit out with nonsense patter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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