BREAKING POINT
Killie fans have been calling for Gary Locke’s head since day one of the season. On Saturday night they finally got their wish
PATIENCE has never been the strongest virtue of a demanding Kilmarnock support who have been calling f or t he head of t heir manager since the opening day of the season.
On Saturday night, they finally got their wish as Gary Locke tendered his resignation just hours after another torrent of abuse from his own fans.
A damaging defeat at the hands of relegation rivals Hamilton — which came hot on the heels of a 5- 1 collapse at Tannadice — signalled the end of his troubled 12-month reign, with Billy Davies the favourite to take over ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Cup clash with Rangers.
In truth, it was a minor miracle Locke lasted as long as he did.
Punters had been on his back from the moment Dundee thumped Killie 4-0 on August 1 and, while two draws with leaders Celtic bought him time, there was an inevitability that this particular marriage would end in divorce.
Although it was most certainly a case of Locke jumping before he was pushed, apparently part of his decision to step down was because he believed the abuse was having a bad effect on his young players.
Conrad Balatoni agrees and feels the negativity at Rugby Park is seriously hampering Kilmarnock’s attempts at hauling themselves away from the relegation zone.
‘When you have young players without confidence and fans get on your back, you don’t try things,’ said the defender in the wake of Locke’s departure.
‘Maybe if they were behind the t eam and giving everybody confidence, then something might come off for one of these players.
‘Fans are entitled to their opinion and they pay money to come and see us. They can say what they want. As players, we want them to be on our side. But it is down to us to do something so they’re on our side.
‘It’s not nice when the fans are against you. It can hurt certain players who aren’t used to it. Hopefully, they can take a step back and support the boys.
‘It’s especially difficult for the younger ones. They have come f rom Under- 20 f ootball when no one is really there watching.
‘Suddenly they’re in a big game situation and make one bad pass. They hear booing and it’s not nice.
‘Everyone makes mistakes in life, but, because we’re going through a bad spell, it’s getting highlighted and everyone is taking it a bit too far. We need to try to turn that negativity into positivity.’
Locke departs with Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot, and having played at least two games more than teams around them.
It’s been a poor sequence and yet, with only five points separating seventh from 11th, the cause is far from lost for Locke’s successor.
Balatoni knows exactly what it takes to get out of this situation having twice successfully battled the drop with Partick Thistle.
‘Confidence is an issue because we have a lot of young players and guys who haven’t been in this position before,’ he said.
‘I’ve been there before at Partick in the first few years after going up.
‘You need to take the good with the bad and, right now, we’re going through the bad stage.
‘Hopefully, we can come through it with hard work, determination and togetherness. It’s all down to us as players to get out of this.
‘Football is cut-throat. You can have an unbelievable game for 89 minutes, give the ball away to concede a goal and then get abuse hurled at you.
‘We have good young players here and, if we come out the other side, I’m sure they will be stronger mentally.
‘It is down to guys with a bit more experience to lift them up and not make them feel sorry for themselves.’
The 1- 0 r everse was quite literally a slap in the face for Balatoni when Carlton Morris’s late header deflected off his cheek and wrong-footed Jamie MacDonald for the only goal of the game.
For Hamilton, it was a welcome break as it brought them a first win in 10 and only their second in the last 17 matches. Manager Martin Canning was under as much pressure as Locke, having presided over an alarming slump which saw Accies drop like a stone down the league.
A humiliating 8-1 defeat at Celtic Park might have prompted less forgiving owners to act, but his players have responded superbly by keeping successive clean sheets and claiming four valuable points.
‘It was a huge game for us, maybe the biggest of the season,’ said goalkeeper Michael McGovern.
‘We’ve had three clean sheets in the last four games but unluckily we lost eight at Celtic.
‘Lots of teams will go to Parkhead and get thumped. The manager said it won’t define our season and we’ve shown great character to come back.
‘Games against the teams around us will define our season.’