Pascali Criticises Johnston Reign

Photo by Jeff Holmes

Former Kilmarnock skipper Manuel Pascali claims a "negative" atmosphere created by ex-chairman Michael Johnston's running of the club has contributed to the Rugby Park slump.

Killie finished fifth in the Scottish Premiership in 2011 but have spent the years since gradually sliding down the table.

And Pascali, who has knocked back a reduced contract offer to stay at the club he has served since 2008 after insisting he was "not going to beg anyone", believes Johnston deserves a share of the blame.

The Troon-born solicitor has now been replaced as chairman by Jim Mann but remains on the club's board.

He proved an unpopular figure with the Ayrshire outfit's fans and faced repeated campaigns asking him to sell off his stake in the club.

Killie's players even found themselves at odds with the then chairman last season when they threatened strike action over a bonus row.

Now former Parma defender Pascali, who is set to return to Italy, has said: "If you ask a lot of ex-Killie players they will tell you that they have not been treated great from different points of view.

"That's what happened with the bonus row and a couple of other things that gave a lot of negativity to the dressing room.

"I'm not surprised that even with the quality we had the last couple of years we struggled.

"I'm not using it as an excuse but if you have a lot of negativity in the dressing room it is not good."

The 33-year-old added: "I love passion. It's part of my life. But I'm not sure if the passion is there.

"The passion, the communication with the fans, I don't see it.

"When we played (local rivals) Ayr United in the cup, did the chairman come into the dressing room and show what this game means to the club? No. It never happened.

"It never even happened when we won the League Cup in 2012.

"A lot of things can be said but Killie is still my club and it is in my heart. Maybe with more passion, this club can be one of the best in Scotland."

Pascali has been offered a fresh one-year deal by boss Gary Locke, but on vastly reduced terms.

Locke, whose budget has been cut by £500,000, was quoted on Wednesday telling Pascali and former colleague Alexei Eremenko they had just one more week to make up their mind on new contracts.

But the out-of-contract defender had already made it clear he would not accept a drastic wage cut and is now looking for a new club.

"I've never heard anything more from Killie so that's the past now," he said.

"I've had a couple of offers from abroad. There's been one club from Poland in touch and two or three Italian teams playing in Serie B.

"I cannot say the names but I had a meeting last week with two of them and we are not far away from an agreement.

"I'm looking forward to playing again in my home country or maybe somewhere abroad.

"I think I can do well because my legs are still good. Hopefully I will soon be starting a new challenge.

"Of course I'll be sad to leave Killie. I've played 220 games for the club, I was captain. Last year I played 35 games, so I wasn't expecting to leave.

"Maybe Killie didn't think I was worth more than the offer I was made. Maybe they thought at the age of 33 I was not going to have another season as one of the main players.

"But I see they are struggling to sign players and I'm not surprised with the budget they have got.

"I want the best for Killie but if they don't sign the right players, it will be hard next season."