McCULLOCH ‘DESERVES A RETURN’ TO MANAGEMENT

KILMARNOCK star Chris Burke believes Lee McCulloch’s eye for a player should stand him in good stead for a return to management.

McCulloch succeeded Lee Clark at Rugby Park in 2017, initially on an interim basis, and presided over a fruitful transfer window following his permanent appointment that summer, recruiting Burke and future Scotland internationalists Eamonn Brophy and Stephen O’Donnell among a batch of impressive signings.

The team did not gel under McCulloch and he left by mutual consent just eight league games into the season. It fell to Steve Clarke to rejuvenate Killie, famously hauling them off the foot of the SPFL Premiership table and into Europe the season after.

Clarke picked up back-to-back Scottish Football Writers’ Association Manager of the Year awards along the way but Burke claims the new Scotland boss would be the first to acknowledge the role McCulloch’s recruitment played in his story.

‘Lee has to take credit for that,’ said Burke. ‘He might be disappointed at how it went in terms of results, although you never know what might have happened had he stayed longer.

‘But his recruitment… he brought myself, Kirk Broadfoot, Stephen O’Donnell, Alan Power and Eamonn Brophy to the club.

‘They’ve all been such key players. You have to be able to pick out good players and Steve Clarke would admit that he benefited in having those players to implement his ideas.’

After a brief spell assisting former Rangers coach Adam Owen in Poland, McCulloch (above) has most recently been helping out Robbie Neilson on the training ground at Dundee United.

Burke hopes to see the 41-year-old back in the frontline soon.

‘Just because it failed first time doesn’t mean it will happen second time round,’ he says. ‘I know Lee will think like that. Listen, he knows the game inside out and he knows the mistakes he made. He deserves another chance.

‘Just because it didn’t work out in his first job does not mean he is a bad manager.

‘But it’s ruthless, isn’t it? It’s hard. The problem is that people might look at it and decide not to give him a chance, simply because there are so many people out there wanting to coach.

‘Hopefully, being at Dundee United will help him kick his career off.’