It’s been quite a turnaround. Kris Boyd and Kilmarnock have enjoyed the kind of renaissance that will probably lead to the Ayrshire club’s manager, Steve Clarke, being nicknamed Da Vinci.
With 16 goals in the Ladbrokes Premiership this season, Boyd’s invigorated poaching instincts have been recognised with a place on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year.
Boyd has been in the running for the award before but, given the transformation both for Boyd individually and Kilmarnock collectively under Clarke’s shrewd stewardship, the experienced 34-year-old striker is taking particular pride in this latest nomination.
“At the start of the season when we were all over the place I was frustrated,” he said. “I felt I was finished as well as I was carrying niggly injuries and I didn’t feel I was giving 100 per cent to the team because of those injuries.
“But the manager (Clarke) seems to understand my role in the team and what I can and can’t do. At 34, I’m not going to start dropping back into midfield, taking people on, chasing people down and chasing full-backs. I’ve never done that in my career and I’m not going to start now.
“It was a match made in heaven when the manager came in. I think with the age I am and where I was six months ago and the start of the season we had, to turn it around and be sitting here is something I’m proud of.”
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