That's your Jim Jefferies gone then ..

Ring in the changes.

We're barely three games in to the new year and already we've got three teams without a manager. To paraphrase, this is supposed to be a football competition, not the Burma Railway ..

Kilmarnock relieved Jim Jefferies and his assistant manager Billy Brown of their duties, apparently by mutual consent, the result - on the surface at least - of chairman Michael Johnston's rapidly disappearing faith in Jefferies' ability to turn the season around.

Killie are currently in 11th place in the league, with only 3 wins all season (two of those coming against St Johnstone, the other an opening day win at home to Hamilton). With 1 win in their last nine, they lead a Falkirk side that are beginning to find their form by a slender 2 point margin, and with tricky ties against Motherwell, Celtic and Aberdeen to come in the next few weeks, Killie's precarious position may well look a lot worse by the end of this month.

Chairman Michael Johnston insists that Jefferies' departure is nothing to do with club-captain Kevin Kyle's allegations that he was critical of Jefferies' tactics. This seems to be backed up by Jefferies himself who felt the time was right to move on and "give the club a fresh start".

At a time when most football clubs in Scotland are sailing close to the wind in terms of finance, Kilmarnock are not so much close to the wind, they're in the middle of a raging storm. With debts of around £9m, the club is facing an uncertain future, a future that will be even bleaker should they be relegated at the end of this season.

Whereas it's easy to understand Jim Gannon’s departure from Motherwell (he was an awkward bugger who pissed everyone off and refused to sign a contracts) or Craig Levein's departure from Dundee United (the chance to lead Scotland to the promised land, i.e., a major tournament), it's hard to understand quite why Johnston has chosen this time to sack one of his strongest assets.

Neither a rudderless Motherwell (albeit with a care-taker manager), nor a rudderless Dundee United are in any danger of relegation. Both sides have a unique selling point that makes them attractive to prospective managers: Motherwell have a young squad, something that might attract a young coach willing to try his luck in the SPL (Billie Stark, perhaps?), while Dundee United have a cracking youth policy set up, and have dedicated chairman who is able (if not always willing) to invest in the team.

What about Kilmarnock? The club have been streamlining for some time now, with coach Gary Locke, chief scout John Harvey and the club doctor were axed. With a disintegrating infrastructure and a heavy debt, there's not much for any new manager to work with. And while there are a quite a few managers out there looking for a job, given the clubs problems, would anyone want to come to Rugby Park?

Some names you can pick up from the various forums include former player Ally McCoist (he's waiting for Walter to 'move upstairs' at Rangers) and Gus McPherson (probably quite happy at St Mirren).

Given the club's finances, they'll probably end up going for a manager they won't need to pay for. Jimmy Calderwood, for example. He's still looking for a job and he's used to working with small budgets during his time at Dunfermline and Aberdeen, but would he fancy a move to Ayrshire?

They say that you should never change horses in mid-stream, but Michael Johnston has taken an almighty gamble with this move, one he may well come to regret.

We worry for Kilmarnock, Scotland's second oldest clubs. The main focus of what remains of Kilmarnock's season is to stay in the SPL, and that is something we feel the club would have done with Jefferies in charge.

Whoever takes over the reigns at Rugby Park faces an titanic struggle, not just on the field, but off it too. With no money to bring in playing or coaching staff, their survival depends on a great deal of luck and enough time to turn things around.

And while luck is in plentiful supply, for Killie, time isn't.