DALGLISH KNOWS ONLY BIG OFFER WILL LURE BOSS AWAY

THE faith Sir Kenny Dalglish has in Steve Clarke was best exhibited back in January 2011. Taking charge of Liverpool for a second time, Dalglish’s first call was to hire the former Scotland right-back as his assistant. Clarke’s subsequent success at Kilmarnock has come as no surprise to his old boss. Named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year by his peers on Sunday evening, the 55-year-old is also in line to bring European football back to Rugby Park for the first time in 18 years. Those achievements have not gone unnoticed. As well as finding himself on the shortlist being considered to replace Alex McLeish as Scotland manager, Clarke is also high in Fulham’s thoughts as they plan for a quick return to the English Premier League. Dalglish declined to be drawn on whether he would like to see Clarke lead the national side, but believes he will not be in any rush to jump ship from Kilmarnock unless a truly appealing offer arises. ‘Steve will do what he wants to do for himself,’ said Dalglish, capped a record 102 times by Scotland. ‘That’s the most important thing — that he goes where he’s happy. ‘If you do well at whatever job you’re in, people will assess you and if they need you they’ll ask you if you want to go. ‘But that doesn’t mean you’ve got to go. He deserves any recognition that he’s getting because of the results he’s got. ‘Whether he stays or goes, it’s his decision. If he has somewhere to go, if it’s not better than Kilmarnock and he’s not as happy as he is at Kilmarnock, why would he go? ‘Kilmarnock would love to give him more money to go and get players but if you’ve not got it, you can’t give him it. ‘Fulham have just been relegated, so I don’t know how much money they’d have. They spent a fortune this year and they never went too far. ‘Whatever he wants to do, he’ll do, and wherever he goes from Kilmarnock — if he does go — it’s his choice. You get the recognition you get because of what you’ve done. No one can dispute that.’ Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hearts lifted Kilmarnock above Aberdeen and into third place. Maintaining that spot would guarantee Europa League qualification regardless of who wins the Scottish Cup. ‘It’s fantastic,’ added Dalglish, who is promoting the staging of the Guinness Pro14 rugby final at Celtic Park on May 25. ‘A lot of people say: “You’ve got to do all these qualifying rounds of the Europa League before you get into the proper tournament” but if you’re Kilmarnock, how exciting would that be for their supporters if they’ve not seen it for almost 20 years?’