Black's focus is now on picking up the points

Nov 5 2008 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

HIS emotions were all over the place and his future up in the air.

But this morning, Kenny Black is concentrating on only one thing – picking up three points at home to Livingston this Saturday.

The Diamonds boss was in the frame to replace Alex Rae at Dundee last week following the ex-Rangers midfielder’s sacking by the Dens Park outfit.

However, Black is going nowhere after Airdrie chairman Jim Ballantyne made him a contract offer he couldn’t refuse.

The 44-year-old told the Advertiser: “At no point did I ever want to leave Airdrie as I like it here and I was delighted to eventually put everything to bed.

“I have an affection for this club and I like the people here. They certainly made my decision to stay a lot easier.

“I know the club have high expectations and want to bring Premier League football back to Airdrie but we know it will be a case of one day at a time.

“We can now concentrate on football and consolidating our First Division status.

“Hopefully, we can enjoy some positive results over the coming weeks and if we do, then maybe we can start to build for next season at Christmas.”

Assistant manager, Jimmy Boyle, has penned a full-time deal with the club and Black added: “Having him here every day will be a big help.”

Airdrie squandered a host of opportunities in their 1-1 draw at Dundee on Saturday and the manager reckons his troops are capable of producing better performances.

He said: “Not taking your chances can come back to haunt you and that is exactly how it turned out.

“I felt over the 90 minutes we have played better this season but a point at Dens isn’t a bad return.”

Black’s men were due to play Dunfermline Athletic last night and this weekend host high-flying Livingston, who they defeated 2-1 at Almondvale in September.

The manager added: “Our home form has been pretty good and the only game I have been disappointed with was the loss to Clyde.

“We played well in the second half at Livingston and it was a good result for us at a tough venue.

“We have made a fairly reasonable start to the season but know the remainder of it is going to be very difficult.”