Clarke’s side came away from Ibrox with all three points on Saturday, prompting a number of Rangers fans to suggest him as a potential successor to Graeme Murty.
Rangers can think again if they want to appoint Steve Clarke as manager this summer, according to Kilmarnock’s major shareholder, Billy Bowie. Clarke’s side beat Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox on Saturday, prompting a number of Gers fans to suggest the 54-year-old as a potential successor to Graeme Murty.
Murty’s temporary contract runs until the summer, and his chances of landing the permanent Rangers position have suffered a hit after back-to-back defeats – the other against Celtic.
But speaking to the Daily Record on Wednesday, Bowie insisted that Clarke will not be heading to Ibrox if the Yorkshireman isn’t kept on.
“There’s been a lot of speculation but let’s nip this in the bud. Steve signed a two-and-a-half year contract and as far as we are concerned he will be here next season,” said the Killie chief. “That’s it. There seems all this talk as if he’s definitely going here, there and everywhere in the summer as if it’s a done deal.
“Far from it. We heard it before and this week it’s Rangers. No one really mentions little old Kilmarnock. It was the same at the weekend. It’s all very well taking about how Rangers played but not as much about the outstanding Kilmarnock performance.
“I understand people might be looking at the job he is doing though. But we are trying to build something here and Steve is a huge part of it. He has never once mentioned anything about going anywhere and is completely focused on his job.”
Clarke, who was born and raised within half an hour of Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park ground, is a self-confessed lifelong Killie fan.
And his early progress – he’s taken the Ayrshire side from 11th to fifth in less than five months – may encourage him to stay put.
Clarke succeeded former Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch at Kilmarnock, having spent around 30 years south of the border in England.
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