A top table seat at a Kilmarnock AGM is usually about as comfortable a vantage point as a place in the stocks, but that is something else which Steve Clarke has managed to change upon his return to his native Ayrshire. The 54-year-old from Saltcoats was well nigh carried out of the place on Wednesday night and it wasn’t just because he has presided over just two defeats in his ten matches in charge.

It owed every bit as much to a pledge he gave in response to a question from the floor, re-iterated for public consumption as he met daily newspapers yesterday, which will surely do much to dampen the speculation which suggests he would be a plausible next port of call for a Rangers board still seeking a permanent manager after being snubbed by Derek McInnes.

“My quote was ‘it’s not my intention to leave Kilmarnock for any other Scottish club’,” said Clarke. “That’s it. I don’t think I need to elaborate on that. It’s quite clear.

“It probably says a lot about me as much as what it says about settling in here,” added the former West Bromwich Albion and Reading manager, a veteran also of countless stints as assistant manager at some of the biggest clubs in Britain. “I came here for a reason. I said at the time that a lot of different reasons fell into place at the right time. Nothing has changed that.

“I didn’t come here to leave. I came here to do a job. I came back to Scotland for Kilmarnock. It’s always hard to look too far into the future but it’s definitely not my intention to leave to go to another Scottish club. For me, it [the Rangers link] is a non-story because there is nothing in it.”

You can pick holes in anything you want – Clarke would be a plausible candidate too, of course, for the Scotland international vacancy – but there was no reason yesterday not to take this man at face value. Two home wins in a row has re-connected this club with its fanbase in a way not seen since the club’s League Cup win in March 2012. “They told me one or two stories about previous AGMs,” said Clarke. “But it was nice – a good environment. The supporters are appreciative of the efforts of the board to get me on board. They are also appreciative of the fact that the players have done so well in recent weeks. We just have to try and continue that.”

Quizzed repeatedly about the club’s top six ambitions, Clarke admits “he is a worrier” who knows how quickly things, even as apparently serenely as they are progressing, can turn. There is no better evidence than his first match in charge, the return match against Pedro Caixinha’s Rangers at Ibrox. There Kilmarnock were, staring at a last minute penalty kick which would have secured a 2-0 win for the Ibrox club, before Ryan Jack gets sent off and Jamie MacDonald saves Daniel Candeias’ effort. Before anyone knew it, Chris Burke was tapping in an injury-time equaliser at the other end and Caixinha was getting his P45. “So I’m sitting on the bench at Ibrox, first game in, thinking ‘well at least I can tell the lads that they’ve put on a really good performance and we can build on that’,” he says. “Then Jamie saves the penalty, we’re down the other end and it’s 1-1.

“The second half unfolded a little bit like I told the players it might at half-time so suddenly they’re thinking ‘that guy’s not daft’ and they’ve got a lot of confidence from the result as well. We managed to carry that on to the next game at Celtic Park and slowly, by taking small steps, we’ve managed to build ourselves into a decent run of form. All we can do is try to continue that over the weekend. But it’s just what happens in football. I watched the game on Wednesday night between Bristol City and Man United - it’s what happens in football with last minute goals and a lot of drama. Things can change very quickly in a short space of time.

“I know football,” added Clark, who downplayed transfer speculation about a move for Sebastian Bassong and Aaron Tshibola. “And I know that as soon as you get complacent, relax a little bit and start to dream about going up the way, it can quickly bite you on the backside. There’s not one team this year that you are looking at and thinking ‘they’re gone’. In this league, with three games this week, the whole picture can change. Until we are far enough away from the bottom of the table to stop worrying about that then I won’t think about how far up the table we can actually finish.”

Clarke and Saturday’s opposite number Graeme Murty are both revered in Reading but their paths have never crossed. “I don’t know Graeme but obviously I know his reputation and what he is about,” he said. “I know he did very well at Reading and he’s doing ok at Rangers as well, he’s gone in there and steadied the ship quite well. I look forward to catching up with him at the weekend.”