Clyde speculation didn't affect East Kilbride players against Caledonian Braves, says Mick Kennedy as he addresses job links

Mick Kennedy insists speculation surrounding his future at East Kilbride didn’t impact his players on Saturday, as they had to come from behind to beat Caledonian Braves and preserve their unbeaten record in the Lowland League.

The Kilby boss is a main contender for the vacant manager’s job at League Two Clyde and has held discussions with representatives from the Bully Wee about a possible move away from K-Park. Further talks are expected this week.

Initial discussions came before last week’s shock 7-0 thrashing by Tranent and Kennedy then watched his side fall 1-0 down at Caley Braves on Saturday, just hours after news of his link to Clyde was broken by Lanarkshire Live Sport.

Kilby needed a Nathan Flanagan strike and a Liam Brown penalty in the final 33 minutes to turn things around after Cameron Breadner had fired ninth-place Braves in front after 47 minutes.

Kennedy insisted his players weren’t distracted by events off the field as they put in a “professional performance” to stay top of the table.

He said: “It is not a secret the players have been discussing it, but the speculation didn’t impact them at all.

“I know sometimes these things can be distracting for players, but, ultimately, they are there to represent the club and they were very professional in their approach. There was no issue.

“Even at the point we went 1-0 down, we were really in control of the game.

“Caley Braves looked dangerous on the break from time-to-time but I always thought we would get back into the game.

“Whether we would go on and win it was another story, but we had enough control of the game that I felt we would get there.

“The last 20 minutes against us is always really pivotal because we are such a possession-based side, the