Kilmarnock: New boss Derek McInnes eyes promotion & transformative impact
- Published
'Kilmarnock's potential is more than a lot of clubs'
Derek McInnes aims to have Kilmarnock back in the Scottish Premiership and challenging for Europe next season as he eyes a transformative impact similar to Steve Clarke at Rugby Park.
The newly-appointed manager says there is no break clause in his 18-month contract should Kilmarnock fail to secure an immediate top-flight return.
And he cites reconnecting the team with the fanbase as key to his plans.
"I don't want to be in the Championship any more than the club do," he said.
"Hopefully this time next year we're talking about Kilmarnock being a top-six Premiership club trying to fight for Europe.
"That's what can be done, it's been done here before, and we're looking to try to do that again."
Kilmarnock achieved club record points totals in successive top-flight seasons under Clarke, finishing fifth and third - earning a return to European football - before he left for the Scotland job in 2019.
McInnes also recalled the fervour Tommy Burns brought to Rugby Park as he seeks to revive the club.
"I played against Kilmarnock when they were really thriving under Tommy Burns," said the former St Johnstone, Bristol City and Aberdeen boss.
"He lit the fire here and got the supporters really engaged. Stevie [Clarke] did it more recently and we saw the capabilities of the team.
"I remember a cup tie down here a couple of years back when I mentioned to our staff I'd very rarely seen Rugby Park as vociferous and engaged with the team. That's something we clearly want to get back to."
McInnes, 50, believes he is now "a better manager than ever" as he returns to football as Tommy Wright's successor nine months after his eight-year Aberdeen tenure ended.
He will look to strengthen the squad this month with the Rugby Park side currently fourth, five points adrift of leaders Arbroath with a game in hand.
"I've had good chats with the board and part of the reason why I'm here is that we do have that option to go and try to make necessary changes," he added.
"We need to come out of the January window stronger than we went into it.
"This club expects to be in the Premiership and so it should. It's my task now to help us get there.
"On the back of what we achieved at Aberdeen, we're confident we can get something similar going here."