Killie rising?

By Julian Taylor

Jefferies guided Kilmarnock to fifth place last term on a frugal budget

Kilmarnock have been living under something of a summer cloud with the Steven Naismith saga dominating the headlines around Rugby Park.

Scotland's young player of the year is the undoubted jewel in the Killie crown and the 20-year-old has been courted by Rangers in the close-season, and, latterly, Celtic, who have shown an interest.

Naismith - who was on trial with Arsenal at the start of last season - remains an Ibrox target despite a recent withdrawn bid, and it is still likely an eventual deal with Kilmarnock will be completed before the end of the transfer window.

The striker, who netted 19 goals in 2006/07, has indicated an unwillingness to shift south so any interest from cash-rich English outfits would appear to be futile at this stage.

However, while Naismith may well even remain at Kilmarnock as the season kicks off, he will continue to sit somewhat restlessly in the departure lounge.

If, as seems likely, he checks out, what next for manager Jim Jefferies?

Clearly the new Scotland international's scoring exploits carry major currency, and Jefferies will be landed with the challenge of compensating for his absence, if sold.

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The wily Rugby Park boss is an old hand at the wheeling-and-dealing aspects of management, and when Kris Boyd decanted to Rangers in December 2005 he reshuffled his pack.

And, if Killie receive a fee in the region of £2m for Naismith there may well be some of that redirected for a replacement.

Defender Gordon Greer also left the club, along with several others, midfielders Peter Leven, Stephen Murray, and Jamie Adams, while Rocco Quinn has returned to Celtic from his loan spell.

Goalkeeper Graeme Smith has opted to try his luck with Rangers, so Jefferies does have obvious gaps to fill.

To date, only midfielder Craig Bryson has arrived from Clyde, as Kilmarnock look to the lower division market to augment their squad.

David Fernandez, meanwhile, is making good progress from a long-term knee ligament injury and the reappearance of the former Celtic player will be a major boost, alongside veterans and long-time Jefferies' protégés, Allan Johnston and Gary Locke.

Colin Nish will undertake the scoring responsibility for Killie

Colin Nish will continue to bear the responsibility of leading the line, and to hopefully improve on last term's 14-goal tally.

Australian Danny Invincible, who missed a large chunk of last season with injury, will return to add some extra guile to the midfield.

Few would bet against the experienced Jefferies working the oracle again and perhaps repeating their fifth-placed finish in the SPL - a fine achievement on a comparative shoestring.

The Ayrshire club also reached the CIS Cup final only to lose heavily to Hibernian on the day, but it still showed they are capable of competing in the domestic cups.

How the manager would surely love the chance to work with the resources the Easter Road side currently enjoy.

Kilmarnock have shown plenty of resilience over the years, and if they manage to emulate last season's achievements expect Jefferies stock to rise even further.