Steven Old was sighted on Kilmarnock's bench in their 2-1 loss at home to Celtic overnight. For Old, it was a rare inclusion in the match squad, only the third time this season he has been involved in any capacity. Unfortunately, he did not make it onto the pitch, and it is now many months since he notched an appearance for the Scottish Premier League battlers.
Since arriving at Rugby Park prior to last season, Old has only featured in 10 competitive matches for Kilmarnock, most coming at the beginning of last season. Disappointingly for the Manawatu defender, a good number of those appearances were as a stop gap at right full back, hardly his ideal niche. Without knowing too much about Kilmarnock's squad or attending too many trainings and reserve team matches, its difficult to challenge Old's scant opportunities. But while Old has obvious technical limitations and struggles as a distributor, he has shown - notably at the Beijing Olympics - that he is a strong, athletic, reasonably quick defender. For a team that plays much of its football without the ball and under the kosh those are not bad attributes. So, its a pity he's not been given much of a run at centre back.
Old's contract is for three years and he still has the best part of two seasons left to run. So, he has an income sewn up for some time. However, unless there is a change in his situation at Kilmarnock he may be well advised to secure a loan or look for another contract. Otherwise, he risks being unemployable and without a future as a professional footballer once his Kilmarnock days come to an end.
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