WANTED IF BREWSTER AND VALDAS GET BOOT JEFFERIES IS NO.1 TARGET TO STEP IN

IF I were a director of Kilmarnock, I would hide Jim Jefferies away somewhere deep inside Rugby Park so nobody could get to him.

And, above all, I'd make sure he was nowhere near a phone for the next few weeks. Two SPL managers are under severe pressure right now, Craig Brewster at Dundee United and Valdas Ivanauskas at Hearts. If they go, I can guess who would be the favourite to take over.

It remains to be seen what will happen with either but it does appear their reigns are coming to an end. And if one or both do get sacked in the near future, the obvious candidate to take charge at either Tannadice or Tynecastle would be Jefferies.

That's why Kilmarnock will do everything in their power to dissuade would-be suitors from making any sort of enquiry for their boss. Perhaps they will tell Jim not to do any media work for a while in the hope other chairmen will forget all about him and the remarkable job he has done at Rugby Park.

Ican't see Brewster lasting long. His comments after the 3-1 defeat at Aberdeen suggested to me that he had almost given up.

When you hear a manager state publicly that he didn't know why his players weren't giving their all, it usually means the beginning of the end. I know it's said there are lies, damned lies and statistics but two wins from 27 games is just not good enough.

Advertisement

Every season the teams down near the bottom of the SPL take comfort that there is always one side worse than the rest of them. Right now, that team is Dundee United.

While Brewster may have made mistakes, it is the players who must take most of the responsibility for that. If they can't get themselves motivated they should be ashamed of themselves, particularly if United are relegated as their fans fear they will be.

Iadmire Eddie Thompson. The chairman has ploughed millions into the club, paid big wages for players and got nothing back. You have to say United are in a far worse state than when he took over five years ago.

Thompson must look with envy at what has happened at Kilmarnock where Jefferies and Billy Brown have been given no money yet have a team with realistic UEFA Cup ambitions. The perfect example of the job being done at Rugby Park is the signing of Grant Murray.

With all due respect to the player, he is a good and honest professional but had spent a number of years outside the SPL and was off the radar for most of us.

Killie signed him from Partick Thistle in the summer and he has been outstanding. Jim and Billy have got the best out of Murray as they do every single player.

Eddie has dug deep and got nothing in return. That's why I think that partnership at Kilmarnock would be top of his list if he goes for another change of manager - despite failing to land them last time before appointing Brewster.

It has been suggested that United can't afford to pay out more compensation after another sacking. Maybe, but they sure as hell can't afford to be relegated.

Brewster must be wondering why he ever left Inverness. But if he is under pressure because of bad results, Ivanauskas is under pressure because Vladimir Romanov is his boss.

Don't ask me to second-guess what will happen at Hearts now that Romanov has called his manager to a face-to-face meeting.

A year ago he sacked George Burley when the team were top of the league. Just because they are now eight points behind Celtic does not mean there will be another change of manager but it's looking increasingly likely.

If that were to happen, I just wonder whether Romanov would look to Ayrshire rather than Lithuania for Ivanauskas' replacement. There is the obvious emotional pull Tynecastle has for both Jim and Billy, but would they work for Romanov? It would certainly be interesting.

Dundee United and Hearts have spent millions but that does not guarantee success. Kilmarnock have brought in players from the lower leagues and resurrected the careers of Allan Johnston and David Fernandez when nobody else seemed to want them.

That is the sign of a good manager and, outside of the Old Firm, I see Jim being the most sought-after manager in Scotland.

Who knows, maybe Hibs might go for him. Okay, maybe that is taking it just a bit too far.

Taken from the Daily Record