Gordon Smith: There’s a big few days ahead for Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke

The next four days will see Steve Clarke attempt to do what Brendan Rodgers has just failed to do against Valencia and bridge the gap.

Kilmarnock play host to Celtic in the league this afternoon and then, on Wednesday night, are at Ibrox for their Scottish Cup replay against Rangers.

Individually, they will be two extremely tough tests for the team who have been arguably the success story of the season.

Together, they also represent what will be a real test of the ability of the man, who is an outstanding candidate for the Manager of the Year awards.

Knowing Steve, there will be no chance he will be looking that far ahead.

I say that because one of the big keys to his success has been the simplicity of his approach.

Not only will he not be looking to the end of the campaign, I would bet he isn’t even giving the Scottish Cup tie a second thought.

That’s despite the fact his team have a real shot at winning the competition.

Yes, going away to Rangers is a tough ask.

It is true, too, that even if they win through, they then have to travel to meet Aberdeen in the quarter-finals.

But having personally seen them shut out both Aberdeen and Rangers, I’d would argue only a fool would completely discount them.

Likewise, while Celtic would start as favourites in any meeting between the teams – in league or cup – this Killie team have already proved they can beat the champions in a one-off game.

That’s impressive because, as I said at the top, there is a significant financial gulf between Killie and the Old Firm.

The fact Clarke has been able to get the sort of consistency out of a group of players, who are paid much less than their counterparts at Celtic Park and Ibrox, speaks volumes for his ability.

It is also the reason why he will certainly be a target for bigger clubs over the coming year.

The topic of how to get more from less is topical because it is what Brendan Rodgers failed to do against Valencia on Thursday.

Celtic had all the supporters and the big build-up but were well beaten by their Spanish visitors.

And this time, of course, they were in the unfamiliar position of being the poor relations in the contest.

It said it all about the spending power of the La Liga outfit that one of the second-half substitutes they introduced, the Portuguese Goncalo Guedes, cost them £35-million.

The disappointing thing from a Scottish perspective, was that while Celtic were outclassed a lot of their problems were self-inflicted.

We saw player after player mishit their passes, either out of play or put them straight to an opponent.

It wasn’t just the fringe guys who were guilty of the wastefulness, either.

Rather it was the mainstays of their successful campaign who were at fault.

I am talking about the likes of Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and Scott Brown.

Dedryck Boyata, a big success for Belgium at the World Cup in the summer, had a particularly uncomfortable night of it.

They will have to do it all again this week – only this time it will be even tougher because the second leg is away from home.

Before then they have the game at Killie, and I suspect we will see a performance which is a lot more switched on.

They are no fans of the artificial surface, but Rodgers has the luxury of having a comparatively big squad to choose from and will pick an XI he feels are best suited to the task.

It is true they have had their problems up front, but the fact they were able to loan Youssuf Mulumbu, one of Killie’s stars last season, back to his former club shows how well off they are.

Even though he will play no part in today’s action under the terms of the deal struck, I still fancy his loan employers to go close.

And should they do so, it will be another pointer to the Celtic board of Clarke’s ability.

A pointer which, should Brendan Rodgers decide to move on in the summer, they could well feel inclined to act upon.