Kilmarnock name Tommy Wright as successor to Alex Dyer; 57-year-old appointed on two-and-a-half-year deal; Wright left St Johnstone last summer after nine seasons with the club, seven as manager; Dyer departed Kilmarnock last month
Monday 8 February 2021 14:39, UK
Kilmarnock have appointed Tommy Wright as their new manager on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The former St Johnstone boss succeeds Alex Dyer, who left the side on January 30, having emerged as the favourite for the role after talks with the club over the weekend.
Wright will be in the dugout for Motherwell's trip to Rugby Park on Wednesday, before taking Kilmarnock to Ibrox to face runaway league leaders Rangers on Saturday.
Wright told Kilmarnock's website: "I'm absolutely delighted to be the new Kilmarnock manager. It's a great opportunity for me.
"I had nine years in total at St Johnstone and the time was right for me to leave there but it is the perfect time for me to come back to management.
"Kilmarnock has had good success in recent years and I'm looking to take it forward and moving us up the table.
"This is a really good football club with good people and I was really impressed when speaking to them, which made it an easy decision to take the job."
Wright left St Johnstone last summer after seven seasons in charge at McDiarmid Park, during which he led the Perthshire side to the first major trophy in their history in the shape of the Scottish Cup in 2014.
The former Northern Ireland international also guided St Johnstone to five top-six finishes and into four Europa League qualifying campaigns after stepping up from his role as assistant manager in 2013.
Kilmarnock director Billy Bowie told the club's website he was "thrilled" with the news, adding: "We received a number of excellent applications but we believe Tommy is the right candidate to lead us up the Premiership table in the season's remaining games while sharing our vision for the club's future.
"He is an outstanding manager with a strong track record in this league of improving players whilst remaining committed to blooding young talent through the ranks.
"I'm sure our supporters will join me in welcoming Tommy to Killie and wishing him every success in his time at Rugby Park."
Wright will be joined at Kilmarnock by assistant Paul Stephenson, who was at the club previously as part of Lee Clark's coaching staff.
Andy Millen, who had served as assistant manager and reserves manager at Rugby Park, departs the club.
Dyer left Kilmarnock by mutual consent following their 3-2 defeat to Wright's old club St Johnstone last month - a game in which they had held a 2-0 lead.
He left Kilmarnock ninth in the Scottish Premiership, although subsequent defeats to Celtic and St Mirren have seen them slip to 10th, just four points above bottom club Hamilton.
Former Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd believes Wright can "galvanise" the current squad and expects the former St Johnstone manager to improve results at Rugby Park.
"Tommy deserves another crack at top flight job in Scotland after the job he did at St Johnstone," Boyd told Sky Sports News.
"He's going to need all of the skillsets that he used there to transform Kilmarnock. They are a club that has been struggling recently.
"Tommy, on a shoestring budget at St Johnstone, was able to turn that around, win a trophy and get them into the top six.
"It was a fantastic spell there and he's going to need that skillset to galvanise Kilmarnock as well."
Boyd added: "Every little mistake is being punished at this moment in time for Kilmarnock. For Tommy going in there, he just needs to lift the guys and get going.
"They're a good group of boys, there's still some fantastic players and fantastic leaders there; Kirk Broadfoot, Stuart Findlay, Gary Dicker, Greg Kiltie has obviously come back, Rory McKenzie has been there for a long period of time as well.
"So there's some good players in there and I'm sure, under Tommy Wright's guidance, they'll be able to turn this around and start climbing the table."
