LEE Clark left Kilmarnock for Bury yesterday – a year to the day after his arrival at the Rugby Park side – and said that his decision to join the League One basement battlers was motivated by a deeper desire to fulfil his ambition of managing in the top flight in England one day.
The 44-year-old Geordie, who graced the top league in England during a playing career which took in Newcastle United, Sunderland and Fulham – leaves the Ayrshire side in sixth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership, after an eventful 12 months in charge which has seen him guide the club to victory in last season’s SPFL play-off final against Falkirk, then make his mark on the first team by bringing in a raft of new permanent and loan signings. One of his summer free transfers, Souleymane Coulibaly, was recently sold on to El Ahly for an initial £800,000 fee.
While a Kilmarnock statement said they were “disappointed to lose Lee so soon”, they swiftly agreed terms with Bury for the early termination of his contract after Clark expressed his willingness to return south of the border to be closer to his family and embrace a new challenge.
The Rugby Park side could already have a ready-made replacement in the ranks, with current assistant manager Lee McCulloch and coach Peter Leven set to take over in the short-term at least for Sunday’s live televised match against Aberdeen. The former Motherwell, Rangers, Wigan and Scotland international took interim charge prior to the appointment of Clark but may feel ready to take the job on a long-term basis.
“I have had a wonderful year as Kilmarnock manager,” said Clark. “The club and fans have treated myself and my family fantastically and we are in a good position with a strong and loyal squad and staff. The directors have given me their full support in rebuilding the squad and the fans will always have a special place in my heart but I still have huge ambition to one day manage at the highest level in England, which is obviously the Premier League, and I feel that the fresh challenge of managing a club in England’s League One could provide me with the platform to build towards this goal.”
“We are delighted to have agreed terms with Kilmarnock for the services of Lee as our next manager,” confirmed Bury chairman Stewart Day. “I have been extremely impressed about what Lee has achieved and I have to thank the directors of Kilmarnock for the professionalism of how they have dealt with the matter. I wish Kilmarnock all the best for the future.”
For all the club’s recent form and prospects in the Premiership table, the presence of company secretary Michael Johnston in the boardroom remains a running sore with the club’s fans and commercial backers, with further demonstrations from supporters set to take place during Sunday’s match. The Kilmarnock FC Supporters Association have urged fans to get out of their seats and turn their back on the game in the 18th minute, although it should be stated that relations between the fans and Clark – at a number of Question and Answer sessions at the club’s Park Hotel – were mainly cordial.
“Lee spoke to the players and the backroom staff this morning and confirmed to them that he had decided to leave to pursue an opportunity with Bury,” Johnston told SkySports. “He was under contract here until May 2019 so once we knew that he wanted to go we quickly agreed terms to allow him to leave. He wants to go back to England and sees the opportunities there of moving up the divisions with a better hope of getting into the Premiership if he can.”
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