Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes praised his team for achieving their primary objective of staying in the cinch Premiership after they beat Ross County 3-1 at Rugby Park to avoid a relegation play-off.
The Ayrshire side, who were promoted from the Championship a year ago, have spent most of their first season back in the top flight in a dogfight at the foot of the table.
But they managed to get themselves out of the bottom two going into the final weekend of the campaign and then held their nerve to stay in 10th place by defeating County and consigning their opponents to a two-legged play-off against Partick Thistle.
“It’s a huge pat on the back for my players in how they have dealt with the last few games,” said McInnes.
“We are pleased we have met the demands for this season to stay in the league.
“I would have taken 40 points at the start of the season all day long.
“In the last 18 months we have got the team up and we have kept the team up, but the demands shift again now.
“We have to be ready for next season but we also have to recognise the effort involved in getting the job done.”
Killie took a first-half lead through Brad Lyons before further goals in the second half from Danny Armstrong and Kyle Vassell either side of a penalty from County’s Yan Dhanda.
“Danny has carried the fight all season for us and it was fitting that he got the all-important second goal,” said McInnes.
“Then when we needed that calmness at 2-1, Vassell came up with the big moment.”
County boss Malky Mackay lamented aspects of his team’s play at both ends of the pitch as they failed to get out of the play-off spot.
However, he was determined to accentuate the positives of their finish to the campaign after they fought their way into 11th place having been cast adrift at the bottom following a 6-1 defeat away to Hearts five weeks ago.
“When we were beaten 6-1 at Tynecastle and went four points adrift I don’t think anyone gave us a chance of still being in the division,” he said.
“For us to come off the bottom and not be the relegated team, I’ve got to give real credit to team.
“I’ve got to look beyond today when I thought we could have been better. I’ve got to put it in perspective and realise the effort the group have put in over the last few weeks to climb off the bottom and give ourselves a fighting chance on the last day of not being in the play-off position.
“If somebody had said after Tynecastle, I’ll give you the play-off position now, I think most people would have been thinking ‘you’re not going to be there, you’re going to be relegated’. I’ve got to look at it like that.”
County are sweating on the availability of top scorer Jordan White for Thursday’s play-off first leg away to Partick – who have scored 16 goals in their last four games – after he went off at half-time at Rugby Park with a head knock.
“Partick Thistle is undoubtedly going to be a tough game,” said Mackay. “They’re playing well and I’m sure plenty of people will think we’re the underdogs for the game but Ross County are always underdogs in the Premiership so it will not be any different.
“We’ve got two legs to play to stay in the league and we’ve shown over the piece in the last five games we’re a tough team to play against.”
What has gone wrong at Chelsea after billion-pound transfer spree?
Chelsea have taken only five points from their opening six Premier League games this season – their worst start to a campaign since 1978.
Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa leaves them in 14th and extended their winless run to three games.
Here the PA news agency looks at the reasons behind the west London club’s performance problems.
Is Mauricio Pochettino the right man?
Pochettino’s youthful Chelsea squad have experienced teething problems, with their only league win coming with a 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Luton. Their forwards have been wasteful in front of goal, with striker Nicolas Jackson missing seven big chances in six games with just a single goal to show for it. The Blues have shown signs of promise at times but individual errors and questionable changes to the formation will mount pressure on Pochettino, who is expected to perform after Chelsea’s £1 billion-plus transfer spree since May 2022.
How does Pochettino compare to other Chelsea managers?
Pochettino has struggled to improve a Chelsea slump that started under Graham Potter and continued during Frank Lampard’s woeful temporary return. In Pochettino’s first six Premier League games the Blues have scored only five goals, winning once and losing three times. That is slightly better than Lampard’s second spell at the helm, which saw the Blues score seven goals and take four points in their first six games before finishing 12th. Potter managed nine goals and 11 points in his first six games, while Thomas Tuchel – who won three trophies during his Stamford Bridge tenure – picked up 14 points in his first half a dozen Premier League fixtures. With a lack of goals holding Pochettino’s side back, the 51-year-old will hope that an increase in chances taken can turn the tide.
What about all the money they spent?
Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium forked out over £450 million on transfers this summer and have broken the British transfer record twice since January to land midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Caicedo has had a mixed start at Stamford Bridge after his £115 million move from Brighton. The Ecuador midfielder had a poor cameo on his debut against West Ham before he gave the ball away for Anthony Elanga’s second-half winner against Forest. Jackson is yet to live to up to his exciting first two games in blue and has missed golden chances which have cost Pochettino’s side. Fernandez, however, is the shining light in Chelsea’s midfield and has shown his quality on the ball.
Are injuries to blame?
Chelsea had 12 players missing through injury for last week’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth, forcing Pochettino to rotate once again. Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia are yet to make their debuts for the club due to being sidelined and the exciting Carney Chukwuemeka’s knee injury at West Ham was more serious than what was first hoped. Suspensions picked up by Nicolas Jackson and Malo Gusto will add further problems for Pochettino when they face Fulham.
What’s next for Chelsea?
After hosting Brighton in the Carabao Cup and a west London derby at Craven Cottage, the Blues face a tough run that includes Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle in their next eight league games. They will need to find an upturn in form if they do no not want to slip further out of the race for European qualification for a second successive season.
David Martindale says new Livingston owner will be a ‘huge positive’ for club
Livingston manager David Martindale believes the club’s new owner will be a “huge positive” – even though he knows very little about him.
The cinch Premiership club announced on Sunday night that Baycup Ltd and sole director John McIlvogue had acquired a majority shareholding.
Earlier this year, McIlvogue led a consortium that saved well-known Glasgow bakery firm Mortons Rolls from the brink of collapse and rescued more than 100 jobs. His other business interests include food and carpet firms.
McIlvogue has negotiated the Livingston deal with chairman John Ward and is set to meet Martindale and the rest of the staff on Tuesday.
The Livi manager said: “I don’t really know anymore than you guys but what I will say is there’s a new owner and it’s got to be a positive for the football club, because where we have been for the past three or four years has not been great.
“I am going to be really honest, it’s been really, really difficult for the staff in the club.
“So to have fresh impetus, a fresh skill-set coming into the building and hopefully upstairs aligned with downstairs and a wee bit of help upstairs for everybody in the club, that’s a huge, huge positive for the club.
“I have not even met these new owners or the new owner, whatever it is. I don’t even know him, but I just know it needed done and hopefully this is the step in the right direction.”
Livingston made pre-tax loss of more than £800,000 for the 2021-22 financial year and projected another loss of about £400,000 for last season.
Martindale said: “There’s been a lot of sleepless nights and sometimes you come into your work, and it’s not just me, it’s probably every member of staff, and you just think ‘I just want to be able to do my own job’.
“I want to be a football manager, I want to be a chief exec, whatever your role is, it’s been really difficult for all the staff because we are all mucking in and trying to keep this club in the Premiership. Sometimes it’s like pushing water up a hill, that’s how it feels.
“I don’t know the owner, but I trust John Ward implicitly and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead because there is going to be a skill-set that helps us face those challenges as a collective unit. Hopefully it’s the start of a fresh beginning for Livingston.”
The share purchase process remains ongoing, but McIlvogue has assumed control from a consortium called OPCCO6, which includes Ward, who is one of two club directors along with chief executive Dave Black.
That vehicle owned 1.3million of close to 2million shares in the club at the last confirmation, but a further 3.8million shares were created in June.
Historic ownership and club finance issues have been the subject of court cases and police investigations.
Martindale said: “It’s public knowledge, there are probably three or four ongoing court cases I have had to take an active part in in terms of sitting in on meetings because I am getting kept up to date with what’s going on.
“These court cases centre around alleged ownership of the football club and alleged loans.
“I hope I don’t need to deal with this on an ongoing basis.
“There’s only three or four of us in the building, there’s only me and Dave here on a daily basis, so generally anything that comes through the door, we have to deal with it.”
Martindale does not expect an immediate uplift in his football budget, but the club hope that McIlvogue can bring in new advertising revenue in his role as chief commercial officer.
“I’m not going to be chapping the door asking for more money in my budget,” he said. “I’ve got the budget, I know what I am working with.
“I think it’s important as a club we look at ways to increase our turnover, which in turn should hopefully lead to an increase in the budget.
“We lost a lot of money last year so I think it was important we got someone who was coming in and was going to underwrite any losses we are going to have this year.
“But that doesn’t mean I’ve not got to be frugal and spend within our means.
“But it’s nice to have that comfort knowing there is someone in the building who has offered to do that, who is in here to help the football club moving forward.”
How much will Man City miss midfield maestro Rodri and who could replace him?
Rodri will serve a three-match suspension for his sending-off against Nottingham Forest – but how much will Manchester City miss their midfield lynchpin?
Here, the PA news agency looks at the Spaniard’s impact in Pep Guardiola’s side.
“A big miss”
Rodri’s influence has increasingly been recognised over last season and this, peaking with his winning goal and player-of-the-match display in the Champions League final.
Team-mate Phil Foden said after Saturday’s game: “He is one of our most important players and he seems to play all the minutes. He is going to be a big miss.”
While not quite ever-present, Rodri led all City outfielders in playing time last season and had played all but 21 minutes in this season’s Premier League prior to his dismissal for tangling with Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.
The 27-year-old Spain international leads the Premier League in passes and overall touches of the ball this term, still 67 passes and 87 touches clear of second-placed Brighton defender Lewis Dunk even after his dismissal, and trailed only Dunk in both categories last season.
He is also City’s leader this season and last in tackles and, while the same is true for fouls committed, he had up to now avoided serving a suspension since his arrival at the club in the summer of 2019.
The former Atletico Madrid man had eight Premier League bookings and 11 in all competitions in his first season but has had no more than six in the league or nine overall since then, while Saturday’s was the first red card of his career for club or country.
He ranks third for the club this season in shots and has been outscored by only Erling Haaland in the league and, additionally, Julian Alvarez in all competitions as he seemingly takes on some of the attacking duties left by Ilkay Gundogan’s summer departure.
Call for Kalvin
Gundogan was not the only high-profile player to leave City this summer and, coupled with injuries and now Rodri’s ban, Guardiola’s midfield options are rapidly dwindling.
Kevin De Bruyne lasted 23 minutes of the new league season before aggravating a hamstring injury, with Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic also currently sidelined along with defender John Stones, who excelled in a hybrid role last season.
Summer signing Matheus Nunes and forgotten man Kalvin Phillips could therefore have major roles to play – England international Phillips, who came on in the second half against Forest, has played barely 400 minutes of league football since joining from Leeds last summer.
Foden could also operate in a deeper role but options on the wing are not plentiful either, with Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer leaving this summer while Jack Grealish has only just returned from a knee problem. Jeremy Doku has hit the ground running while Alvarez has been used more regularly as a foil for Haaland up front.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
