Jefferies casts envious eye at Smith

JIM Jefferies will take his new-found status as the SPL's best manager to Ibrox tomorrow yet will only be able to shake his head in admiration at the man he admires most in the business, Walter Smith.

The Kilmarnock manager, who was yesterday named Clydesdale Bank Manager of the month for August, envies the way Rangers have bankrolled Smith to the tune of £9million since going out of Europe. Jefferies has spent just £150,000 and joked that he would have been fired if his team had suffered the nightmare of Kaunas.

Jefferies will hope to extend Kilmarnock's impressive start to the campaign of ten points from four games by eclipsing Smith in the top-of-the-table clash but is full of praise for the way Smith has rebounded from the Champions League exit with an impressive recruitment campaign that saw one of the new arrivals, Pedro Mendes, scoring in the Old Firm derby success against Celtic 12 days ago.

"If you want a reason why Rangers and Celtic will always occupy first and second place in our league, just look at the way they rebound after going out of Europe," stated Jefferies. "The one thing both of those clubs can do, is remedy the situation right away. Rangers can spend £9m on quality players. If I had a bad start to the season, I would get the sack – or maybe £900 to spend.

"That is the difference between us. Walter gave me a call after the Old Firm game and congratulated me for our win at Dundee United the day before. He was joking about us both being top and saying they would be ready for us."

The long-serving manager, who is now in his seventh season at Rugby Park, is actually full of praise for the way Michael Johnson, the chairman, and the board, scraped together enough cash to sign striker Conor Sammon from Derry City and Italian midfielder Manuel Pascali from Parma. Only Sammon cost a fee but Jefferies feels that cash-strapped Kilmarnock are actually reaping the reward for last season's torrid campaign when he had to blood a number of youngsters because the club would not break its strict budget.

"I had to put in a lot of boys because of our injury problems and it was sink or swim," reflected Jefferies. "I knew if they failed, I would have nothing left for this season and that the re-building process would be even bigger. We finished the season quite well, which left our fans happier and then the chairman let me bring in Pascali, Sammon and Gavin Skelton. Having new faces around the dressing room, who are keen to do well, rubs off on the other players."

Jefferies refuses to get too excited about Kilmarnock's position but after toiling at the other end of the table last year, and finishing 11th, the manager is keen to embrace the change in belief around the club. "Winning at Tannadice was a huge results for us," he said. "Everyone had been tipping them to do well, but we defended well there and put together a move for our second goal that had eight passes.

"I told the players that if they can go to Dundee Untied and win, they can go anywhere. Celtic and Rangers have had tough games at Tannadice but now we are going into a vital period against the Old Firm with confidence. First we go to Ibrox and then Celtic come to Rugby Park.

"On the evidence of the way we have been playing recently, Rangers will have to play well to beat us. Everyone of my players believes in this team. If Kilmarnock makes the top six in any season, that is a great achievement because of our budget and having to sell players like Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith to Rangers. Two years ago, we finished fifth and that was great in a time when we were cutting staff and wages. Now the chairman has given me a little money to use because he knew we needed it.

"We are not getting carried away. It is just four games but if we get something out of the two games with the Old Firm, that will help our progress. Sometimes you worry about your players when they go to Ibrox, there is a fear factor, but that is not the case now."