Source: Team_Talk
Killie want Calderwood to impress
But he has high expectations of his new manager for his four-month contract with his stated aim to push for a top-six place in the Scottish Premier League.[LNB]Calderwood insisted on a short-term contract when accepting an offer to replace Jim Jefferies at the helm of the cash-strapped club, after clearly being frustrated by the lack of concrete offers since leaving Aberdeen at the end of last season.[LNB]Aberdeen qualified for Europe on the day Calderwood's departure was announced after he lost the full backing of the Pittodrie board.[LNB]But the offer from second-bottom Killie was the first real opportunity for Calderwood and assistant Jimmy Nicholl to return to football.[LNB]"We thought we might have had a chance to get a job but it's been seven months," Calderwood said.[LNB]"There were a few little things but nothing that came as close as this to getting a job.[LNB]"That was disappointing and we just wanted to get back in, and we've got a challenge.[LNB]"I think it's good for the club that it's only four months and it's good for us also."[LNB]Johnston took just three days to replace Jefferies after the pair's relationship became strained almost eight years into the former Hearts manager's reign.[LNB]And the chairman admitted losing Calderwood to a bigger club in the summer was a chance he was prepared to take in an attempt to restore Killie's top-six hopes.[LNB]"That's always a risk but that would be a happy situation for both of us in many respects," he said.[LNB]"If he's successful and results are good and we're back up the league, and if it leads to Jimmy getting a move to a bigger club, perhaps in another jurisdiction, I'll be happy and he'll be happy."[LNB]However, Johnston expects Calderwood, who led Dunfermline and Aberdeen to the top six in the previous eight SPL seasons, to prompt a charge up the table.[LNB]Johnston said: "Our priority in recent years has been to be in the top six. We are only seven points away from that now. It's something we both feel is attainable."[LNB]Calderwood's challenge begins tomorrow with the visit of Motherwell, if the areas around Rugby Park pass a police safety inspection today following fresh snowfall.[LNB]The game would see a managerial debut for both teams with Well interim boss Craig Brown awaiting his first game in total control.[LNB]Brown said: "He will lift them, I'm sure. He's a very popular guy, Jimmy.[LNB]"The fans will love him, the players will love him and therefore it will be a boost for Kilmarnock.[LNB]"Every team with a new manager gets an automatic boost, and hopefully Motherwell will get that as well."[LNB]The former Scotland manager, speaking at Toryglen indoor football centre, added: "It was an interesting one because last Thursday we were here and Jim was following us with his Kilmarnock team.[LNB]"We had a good chat and he was telling me about one or two happenings. I think everybody in management had sympathy with him.[LNB]"But he won't be long out of a job, I'm sure. He did a great job at Kilmarnock over the years with minimal resources, so I'm sure someone will wish to use his services."[LNB][LNB]
