Kilmarnock are looking for their fourth manager in just over a year after Mixu Paatelainen was poached yesterday to become the new national coach of Finland, in what he called his “dream” job.
The Finn’s impressive work at Rugby Park this season, and growing reputation, meant it was only a matter of time until he was given a bigger project but the call of his country was impossible for Paatelainen to ignore and he was unveiled yesterday in Helsinki in his new role.
The Finnish FA had made Paalelainen, who played 70 times for Finland, its principal target to replace Stuart Baxter when the latter’s contract was not renewed last November. The Scot’s poor record in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign reverberated all the way back home, ensuring Kilmarnock were stripped of the man who had given them a remarkable makeover since his appointment last June, despite budget cuts.
However, this time it is unlikely that Michael Johnston, the chairman, will have to look outside of Rugby Park for a successor, as he did when Jim Jefferies departed by “mutual consent” in January 2010 and then Jimmy Calderwood opted against a long-term deal after saving the club from relegation at the end of the 2009-10 season.
Paatelainen has already endorsed his assistant, Kenny Shiels, as his successor and the Northern Irishman admitted yesterday that he wants the job on a permanent basis, although he was appointed caretaker by the board yesterday. That move would be welcomed by the Kilmarnock players, who have frequently praised Shiels as a key factor in turning a relegation-threatened side into a stylish one that was in fourth place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League until recently.
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Shiels, a former Northern Ireland youth coach whose son, Dean, played for Hibernian, was recruited by Paatelainen last summer from Tranmere Rovers and would be viewed as the steadying influence who could maintain Kilmarnock’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.
“I have lost a good colleague,” said Shiels, whose first task as caretaker is a game with St Johnstone tomorrow. “However, I am happy for Mixu that he can manage his country, which is a fantastic honour. I would be interested in doing the job here.
“It would be a logical step for the club to keep the same philosophy of how we play and how we try to look at our planning short-term, long-term and medium-term. I am not saying if you take me out of the equation, it is not going to continue but I feel as if my relationship with the players and my philosophy on how we play, are two contributing factors.
“I have to balance what is best for my personal development and what is good for my employers, and at the moment, I see this being a really good option for the club and for myself. The players trained today and have to overcome this blow of losing their manager. We all have to forget about egos now and do the best for Kilmarnock.”
Paatelainen not only improved his own stock at Rugby Park — he had been sacked by Hibernian in 2009 after leading the Edinburgh club to two top-six finishes — but also earned debtridden Kilmarnock a precious £500,000 fee by selling their top striker, Conor Sammon (who never featured under Calderwood), to Wigan Athletic.
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“It is brilliant to get a challenge like this,” Paatelainen said at a press conference hosted by the Finnish FA in Helsinki. “This is a dream come true and I have been working towards it for a long time.”
The 44-year-old has spent most of his working life in Britain, but particularly Scotland since Dundee United recruited the robust former Finland striker in 1989. He also wore the shirts of Aberdeen, Bolton Wanderers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hibernian and Strasbourg in France.
He then combined coaching with playing at St Johnstone and St Mirren, before he got his first taste of management with Cowdenbeath in 2005, winning the Scottish third division title in his debut season and returned to Finland, steering TPS to a third-place finish in the top-flight before succeeding John Collins as Hibernian manager in January 2008.
A statement issued by Kilmarnock said: “Mixu’s short reign at Kilmarnock has witnessed a dramatic improvement in the club’s fortunes and seldom can a manager have achieved legendary status in eight months. The fans’ slogan, ‘In Mixu We Trust’ says it all.”