Confrontations between players and supporters are a sure sign that troubles run deep. The tete-at-tete between Dominic Thompson and a Kilmarnock fan on Saturday said a lot about the club’s ongoing struggle.
A 1-0 home defeat by Falkirk in Kris Doolan’s first match as caretaker manager suggested that it will take more than the departure of Stuart Kettlewell, sacked last Monday, to cure the deepening malaise at Rugby Park.
With just two points from their last 11 matches, they are second-bottom of the Premiership and consigned to a relegation battle that it is starting to alarm players and punters alike.
When the final whistle ended another painful 90 minutes, this time punctuated by Brian Graham’s second-half winner, Thompson walked over to the touchline in front of the East Stand, apparently incensed by something that was said.
When he picked out a supporter and summoned him down the steps, several attempts to restrain the full-back were unsuccessful. David Watson, stadium stewards and Robbie Deas all tried and failed to usher him away.
Whoever is to blame, it wasn’t a great look, but so far there has been no suggestion that the matter will be taken further.
And in the end, Thompson appeared to engage in a quite civilised discussion with one spectator before making his way back across the pitch.
Dominic Thompson confronts a Kilmarnock supporter after their 1-0 defeat by Falkirk
Thompson is restrained by team-mates as tempers flare after the final whistle Rugby Park
Falkirk striker Brian Graham celebrates scoring the only goal of their game against Kilmarnock
Confrontations of this sort are not unusual these days. Only last week, Feyenoord manager Robin Van Persie jumped over the advertising hoardings in Rotterdam to face angry fans after an eighth defeat in 11 games.
Emboldened perhaps by social media, supporters feel increasingly entitled to vent their frustrations. So it shouldn’t be a surprise if managers and players are tempted to respond directly.
Thompson likes to wear his heart on his sleeve. While it never worked out for him as a teenager with Arsenal, the 25-year-old former Brentford and Blackpool defender is nothing if not committed.
More than a few Kilmarnock fans have since reflected that his passion is exactly what has been missing from their team, even last season when they were accused of going stale under Derek McInnes.
While there was a risk that Thompson’s actions would inflame the situation, and that they would set a dangerous precedent, there was one sense in which his emotion was to be welcomed.
For whatever reason, he was hurting. And it might not be a bad thing if a few more of his team-mates felt the same way.
