ANGELO Alessio insisted last night that his players had proved with their performance against Rangers that media stories of a player mutiny at Rugby Park are wide of the mark.
While the Killie boss bemoaned the poor marking at corner kicks which gave Rangers the goals which proved Kilmarnock’s undoing yesterday, his players didn’t appear to be the demoralised bunch they were widely painted as in the wake of the Europa League embarrassment against Connah’s Quay Nomads.
“I’ve read that the players are unhappy but that’s not true and they showed it with a good performance today,” said Alessio. “I’m sure of my team and my players. These players have a good attitude and mentality, which they showed in every game last season. We still have to improve but I’m happy with my team.”
Mind you, there was no hiding the Italian’s disappointment having been deprived an opening-day point by Connor Goldson’s late header.
“It was a great shame at the end of the game,” the Italian added “We deserved a better result because we played very well in the second half.
“I asked the team to press more than they did in the first half but it’s still important to analyse the defeat as we lost two goals from two corners and we can’t afford that.”
Goldson’s injury time winner meant that Stephen O’Donnell 83rd minute equaliser ultimately counted for nothing but the Scotland full back said that the Ayrshire side can look forward to the season with fresh optimism after a display which was every bit as competitive as the club’s jousts with the Ibrox side last season. He hit out at media pundits who claimed that Killie could even be relegated.
“I know they broke us down with two set pieces and I know ours was as well,” said O’Donnell. “But I don’t think they had many other opportunities in open play apart from a couple of counters when we were pushing for it. There is a hell of a lot to build on for us.
“Is pride restored?” said O’Donnell. “Well, we got beat so I don’t know about that, but I think we can allow ourselves a bit of optimism.
“We are getting tipped by pundits to get relegated - which is massively disrespectful to all the players on that park, regardless of who many changes there have been in the squad.
“We finished third last season and I know Steve Clarke had a massive impact on that but so did the players. From top to the bottom as a club we have been hurting because of that result against Connah’s Quay so there are certainly lots of positives and something to build on for the rest of the games.”
O’Donnell is determined that any teething problems with the new manager should be kept in-house. “These are things that we as players need to keep from the outside,” he said. “Everyone was telling us Steve Clarke was leaving every second week. He comes in and works hard, works us well. We need to make sure we deliver what he wants on a Saturday. Today, we certainly looked more positive, in the second half especially. And in the first half we were a lot more rigid.”
Meanwhile, Kilmarnock said last night that they were investigation claims of over-crowding in the Chadwick Stand populated by the Rangers fans yesterday, after a turnstile issue meant hundreds of supporters missed the kick-off. Also included in the wide-ranging probe will be the pitch invasion by Rangers fans at the winning goal, which is thought to have caused damage to a disabled section of the stand.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here