Neil McCann has established himself as one of the leading pundits on the small screen on several different networks in recent seasons.
Now, the former Hearts and Rangers player has committed to leading Kilmarnock to safety in the William Hill Premiership and to cement himself as a leading manager in Scotland’s top flight.
Initially, McCann, and his assistant, Billy Dodds, have their work cut out as Killie are second-bottom of the table, winless in 15 games. Their last victory came on October 4, a 2-0 home win over St Mirren, but Killie have had their moments and they held league pace-setters, Hearts, 1-1 at Tynecastle, Anderson netting in the final minute of the game on December 3.
The sometimes animated McCann and Dodds patrolled the Kilmarnock dugout at Livingston on Saturday, barking instructions to their troops, and earning a point thanks to an equalising goal from substitute Marcus Dackers after 70 minutes, 25 minutes after The Lions had gone ahead thanks to a well-worked Connor McLennan strike.
Greenock-born McCann has not been in the dugout permanently since leaving Dundee in 2018. He had a short spell in interim charge of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2021, and, of course, he was also part of the coaching team, led by Barry Ferguson, which took charge at Rangers at the back end of last season. That, he said, revived his passion for management.
The 51-year-old faced the cameras and national and local sports journalists after the 1-1 draw at The Home of the Set Fare Arena and felt a 1-1 draw was a ‘fair result’.
McCann revealed he is looking to bring in some new faces to freshen up the squad he inherited from Stewart Kettlewell, now at Ross County, and is under no illusions that the January transfer window is tricky.
His other focus is on improving the players in the current squad and also increasing the club’s goal tally, currently on 20, one less than Livingston but four ahead of third-bottom St Miren who have only netted on 16 occasions. No surprises that a striker could be on his shopping list.
The new Killie boss told journalists that it was great to be back at the side of the pitch, and in the dugout again.
He added: “I have a great deal of pride in the players considering we (McCann and Dodds) have only been in the building three days. It is not easy for a group of players to adapt to new management, new ideas.
“We went 1-0 down so late in the first-half and that can have a detrimental effect on the players, but I was impressed with the character. It showed that in the short time I have been in the building I can see there are a group of bodies in the changing room who have character about them.”
The coaching team made second-half substitutions “to freshen things up” and they tweaked the shape of the Ayrshire side. McCann believes his men “got the goal we deserved”. He added: “From that moment, I felt we were the most likely to go on and win it.”
He did concede that Livingston had a couple of breakaways, notably one where Tete Yengi slipped a defender and crashed a left-foot drive against the bar.
McCann argued that the Killie coaches are trying to find a balance of risk and reward, and he is trying to find out what this of players are capable of.
Changing the shape and earning a point his squad showed, said the former pundit, they his men are “adaptable” and they are willing to do what is asked of them. He added: “I am pleased that we got something from the game. Objectively, a point is probably a fair result.”
BRIEFING: Neil McCann discusses the 1-1 draw at The Home of the Set Fare Arena. Picture Nigel Duncan
