Kilmarnock won’t spend while people are struggling – Alex Dyer
Alex Dyer believes it would be ethically wrong for Kilmarnock to splash the cash while Britain remains in the grip of coronavirus.
The reintroduction of tighter restrictions as a fresh wave of cases sweeps across the country has sparked fear and alarm amongst Scottish clubs, with fans set to be locked out of stadiums for the foreseeable future.
Dyer is confident Killie will be able to withstand the worst of the Covid-19 crisis thanks to the support of Rugby Park owner Billy Bowie.
But that does not mean he will be opening up the chequebook ahead of the transfer window closing on October 5 unless he really has to.
Asked if he would have to trim his budget with the return of supporters set to be delayed by up to six months, the Londoner said: “I don’t think so. We’re not a spending club so it won’t affect us too much.
“Billy and the board are there and if we need anything, they have been good up to now.
“We have to be sensible in what we do. It’s important that it doesn’t look like at this time when everyone else is struggling, the football club is going out and spending a lot of money. That’s not right.
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“The most important thing is we have got a good bunch of players here and we’ll deal with what we’ve got in the building.”
A number of clubs on both sides of the border have drawn criticism for asking staff to take wage cuts before paying out significant transfer fees to recruit fresh talent.
Dyer did not want to be dragged into a slanging match but when asked if it was ethically wrong to be spending money during the current crisis, he replied: “Of course, we’re all human beings, we all worry about other people – or we should do – so the most important thing is that we’ve got enough players at the football club.
“If we need one or two because we’d gone down with injuries or looked like we needed something else, then I’d speak to the powers that be.
“But we don’t buy players so it will be just about signing someone and giving them a wage.
“At the same time we understand that there are people out there who have lost their jobs, so we have to be mindful of that.
“It’s not my place to say what other clubs should do in that sense. I worry about Kilmarnock and I worry that we do the right thing. We don’t always get it right but we try our best. Other clubs will run their club how they run it.”
Dyer also opted against dipping into the club coffers this week as he decided not to appeal Eamonn Brophy’s red card against Hamilton last weekend.
But the Killie boss still thinks the striker – who misses Saturday’s trip to Paisley – could have been shown greater mercy by referee Nick Walsh.
“I don’t think he did it maliciously,” he said. “He was a little bit high. If the ref had given a yellow I’d have said, ‘fair enough’.
“There was no appeal and we’ll just get on with it. I think it would be a waste of money appealing. It was a forward’s tackle, the ref was quick to give him the red but I can see why at the same time.”
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