KILMARNOCK boss Steve Clarke admits he is relieved he will no longer be “pestered” about the Scotland job after the appointment of Alex McLeish as manager of the national side yesterday.
Clarke was tipped as a serious contender to replace Gordon Strachan following his incredible start at Rugby Park, but he is happy that he can now focus his full attention to his current job, starting today against Motherwell at Fir Park.
Clarke said: “The media has been pestering me non-stop about it but as far as I was concerned it was never a story. There was never an approach from the SFA and it was never encouraged from this side of the table.
“I’m happy to be here working for Kilmarnock and hopefully we can continue what we’ve been doing recently.”
Killie had just six points when Clarke was named as Lee McCulloch’s successor in mid-October. Having fought back with 10 men to beat Dundee in midweek, they can now move into the top six with victory over Motherwell today.
However, Clarke admits he is still more concerned about the teams below his side in the Ladbrokes Premiership table than catching those above.
“After a result like Tuesday’s you get a little euphoria because it’s such a good feeling to come back from a difficult situation to win the game,” he said.
“There is still no reason for the lads to let things run away with themselves. We’ve got 32 points and that’s still not enough. We need more. We need to get further away from the bottom. We’re 12 points in front of bottom and nine away from second bottom. The quicker we can increase that gap the better.
“We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go.
“We go to Fir Park for a really difficult game and we’ll have to be at our very best to get something.”
Motherwell midfielder Chris Cadden meanwhile has stated his belief that the fight for the last spot in the top six is down to the two teams involved in today’s fixture, and he is determined that it will be Motherwell who come out on top in that tussle.
To do that, he says it is imperative that his team win this afternoon’s battle between the sides, with only their superior number of goals scored edging them ahead of Killie at present.
With the Rugby Park side enjoying two games in hand, the significance of today’s result isn’t lost on Cadden.
“Looking at the table, it looks like we are the two teams that are going for the top six,” Cadden said. “They have two games in hand on us, but I prefer to have points on the board.
“If they win them they will go above us and that’s why we will be going out to win on Saturday. We know how big this game is for what we want to do this season.
“Steve Clarke has been brilliant for them and I watched them play against Celtic. We know it will be a tough test, but we will be fully prepared for it. They have real good players like Youssouf Mulumbu, Jordan Jones, and Eamonn Brophy is on fire right now. If we want to beat them we have to be on form.
“Every game now is crucial at this time in the season. If you want to get into the top six you need to beating teams like Kilmarnock at home. If we win, it will be a step towards the top six for us.”
Last weekend’s Scottish Cup win over Dundee brought up a century of Motherwell appearances for Cadden, and he has experienced huge highs and crushing lows during that time.
After fighting against relegation for the last couple of seasons, he is hoping that the end of this season will be a wholly more enjoyable affair.
“It would be magic to get into the top six and not have to worry about relegation,” he said. “The last few years have been a nightmare for us. With this squad we have put together, it is a top six squad.”
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