THE curse of the manager of the month award has rarely been delivered with such abrupt brutality.

It was arrivederci for Angelo Alessio from Ayrshire yesterday afternoon – just six months after he had been appointed Steve Clarke’s replacement at Rugby Park and a matter of weeks after he was adjudged to be the top best manager in the Ladbrokes Premiership during October.

Not only that, but so sudden did the act take place that the club’s press team were still faithfully sending out e-mails outlining the Italian’s press commitments ahead of the meeting with Motherwell this weekend and the festive fixture calendar.

Clarke’s assistant Alex Dyer – now part of the Scotland national set-up –took the position on an interim basis last night.

He will be given the chance to make the position his own - if that is, he wants it.

Other figures such as Livingston manager Gary Holt could come into contention too.

But what was clear last night was that Killie owner Billy Bowie’s bet on Antonio Conte’s former right-hand man with Juventus, Italy and Chelsea had failed to pay off – regardless of the fact the owner had hailed him as the “best manager in Scotland” when he arrived and had spoken glowingly of him far more recently than that.

“Angelo Alessio has been relieved of his position as manager,” a brief club statement read yesterday. “Everyone at the club would like to thank Angelo for his efforts during his time with Kilmarnock and we wish him every success for the future.

“Alex Dyer will take charge of first-team duties on an interim basis. We will provide a further update for supporters in due course.”

By the numbers at least, no-one could put Alessio’s time at Kilmarnock down as any kind of disaster.

He won almost exactly a third of all his matches during his time at Rugby Park (36%), leaving the Ayrshire side in fifth spot in the table.

Okay, so one win in eight wasn’t the greatest of recent runs, but things would have looked significantly different had they nicked a result in the Highlands on Saturday.

Instead, they conceded a 93rd minute goal to Ross County’s Lee Erwin.

As so often in football, things all ended up far more complicated than that. They must have done, otherwise Billy Bowie would not have been inclined to settle up on the three-year deal which Alessio signed as recently as June.

The only inference which could be drawn from the chaos of yesterday was that player power in one form or another had put paid to the Italian, who also found himself subject to a new head of football operations in the form of James Fowler.

The first rumblings and grumblings along those lines had come back around the time of a catastrophic Europa League qualifying defeat to Connah’s Quay Nomads of Wales.

The kind of morale-sapping humbling from which it is difficult for any manager to ever truly recover, when it was compounded by losses in their first two matches of the season – it took a last gasp Connor Goldson header to give Rangers a Rugby Park win – there were suggestions Alessio might not even make September.

Kirk Broadfoot aimed a swipe at his style of training as he departed for St Mirren.

“We spent hours just doing shape and him walking us through drills,” said Broadfoot. “I know Alessio has worked at some top clubs with top players but I am not sure it was right for the guys we had at Kilmarnock.

“The majority of the players found it hard and I am not sure how many of them enjoy it.

“I gave it a go but it became harder and harder and I just wasn’t enjoying it.”

More key players, like Greg Taylor, followed him out the door but a run of ten matches where they only lost to Celtic and racked up eight clean sheets suggested he had ridden out the storm.

With the Italian’s grasp of English seeming to improve, they steamrollered Hearts at home, came back from two goals down at Easter Road.

But Angelo Alessio’s stay in Ayrshire is over alright, with perhaps the main culprit in it all being Steve Clarke, the man who has broadened the horizons of this club before jumping ship for Scotland.

Kilmarnock as a club have discovered a new ambition and appetite for success. It will be interesting indeed to see what direction they go in next and whether it takes them any closer to finding it.