CLARK’S CHANGE
LESS than a week since Kilmarnock appointed him as their new manager, Lee Clark has already turned his players’ training schedules upside down.
In an attempt to improve what he regards as a chronic lack of fitness among a squad currently sitting second bottom of the Scottish Premiership, he’s brought an end to the traditional two-hour working day which saw players knock off at lunchtime and spend the rest of the day with their feet up.
Clark was pleased with the ability shown by his team during Tuesday’s Scottish Cup defeat to Rangers but less impressed by the way they ran out of steam in the final half-hour of the tie, with Nicky Clark hitting the winner in stoppage time.
As a result, afternoon and evening sessions have been introduced — and they are here to stay.
‘ From now on, we will train chronologically, which means we will train at the same time as the kick-off of our next game,’ said the former Huddersfield, Birmingham and Blackpool boss.
‘Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it today because Glasgow Warriors were coming to play here and we had to be out of the stadium by 1pm.
‘But we’ve already started doing that, with 3pm sessions f or Saturday games and 7.45pm starts ahead of midweek matches so the players’ body clocks are in tune.
‘When there are no midweek games, there will be double sessions. Strength and conditioning training — along with prehab and rehab work — will now be compulsory and we’ll be doing these things so the players can perform at the highest level they’re capable of.
‘Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be intensive and we will taper down on Thursdays and Fridays so they will be like caged animals by the time we get to 3pm on a Saturday.
‘That’s my thought process going forward. What have our players normally been doing at 3pm up until now? Probably having a nap.
‘So, come a Saturday, their body is wondering what the hell is going on.
‘I worked that way when I played under Jean Tigana at Fulham and it made a significant difference to our performances.
‘Our fitness levels became higher and there was a great benefit all round. We became successful very quickly under him.
‘We had a lot of senior British players at the club then, but we all bought into it.
‘I’ve tried to implement it at other clubs but a lot depends on the facilities you have. You need floodlights for evening sessions but, because we train at the stadium, it’s not a problem for us.
‘Being allowed to do that was one of the big things for me when I took this job. It’s about changing the mindset.
‘The players won’t have experienced this before. Some of the younger ones will have been staying up too late, playing on Xbox and PlayStation, so the new system will given them the chance to get the required amount of sleep.’
Clark has also spent the last five days simply getting to know his players and being briefed by his coaching staff (Lee McCulloch, Peter Leven and Billy Thomson) about the players he has at his disposal.
‘I have had some one-to- one meetings on Wednesday and I will have some more,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to players, briefly, after Tuesday’s game. I am getting a lot of feedback from the staff, which is going to be crucial.
‘It has been hectic. There aren’t enough hours i n the day to implement all the changes I want to make in terms of how we do things — training, schedules, things I want to change around the building, such as the dressing room and corridors.’
Even so, the priority for the 43- year- old at t he moment, though, is increasing his players’ stamina, which he will attempt to do without risking needless knocks through over-training.
‘They played with confidence and personality,’ Clark said after watching his new charges in the 2- 1 midweek Cup defeat to Rangers. ‘They played with a lot of freedom and worked hard even when they were tired.
‘Fatigue set in, so that’s one area we will be looking to improve, which is quite difficult to do in such a short space of time. But if they can last the full 90 minutes, then we have a good chance of winning plenty of games.
‘However, you have to avoid putting yourself in jeopardy by picking up injuries because you’ve pushed them too hard and, certainly, we need them fresh for the games.’
The overriding desire will be to push them out of the relegation play-off zone, but the considerable obstacle today is a Dundee side which is targeting a top-six place and a potential return to Europe for the first time since 2003.
Paul Hartley’s side added further momentum to their campaign with last Friday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone and will be seeking to do the same at Rugby Park this afternoon.
On the back of finishing sixth last season, could they actually finish fourth this time round and grace the Euro stage for the first time since they played Perugia in the UEFA Cup 13 years ago?
‘ Of course, why not?’ said Dundee’s German defender Thomas Konrad. ‘ We are in fifth position on the same points as Ross County in fourth.
‘If we keep the good run going, things are possible. It would be a dream if we could pull that off, especially for all the fans.
‘When you look back at the last f ew years, particularly where Dundee have been, everyone would be really happy about it.
‘The fans would deserve it as every single game, even when we aren’t playing well, they are always supporting us home and away.’
“What did they do after 3pm? Nap, probably”